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PRINCETON,     N.     J. 


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Chambe: 
1896. 

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ITS, 

C42  1863 
Talbot  W. 

1819-   1 

Memoir  of 
r.harartp_r 

the 
of 

life 
thp  1 

and 

ate  Hon. 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/memoiroflifechOOcham 


"--^g  *  137  -lA-  G  Jadsim  sa  -• 


irEWXOIUt,    HASPER    &    BB-OTHKRS 


MEMOIR 


THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 


HON.  THEO.  FRELINGHUYSEN,  LLD. 


BY  TAIBOT  W.  CHAMBERS, 

A  MINISTER   OF  THE   COLLEGIATE   CHURCH,  NEW  TORK. 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN     8QUAEE. 

1863. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty- three,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Frelinghujsen,  a  desire 
was  expressed,  in  many  and  various  quarters,  for  some 
permanent  memorial  of  his  life.  His  long  course  of 
private  worth  and  public  usefulness,  the  eminent  po- 
sitions he  had  occupied,  his  ability,  his  eloquence,  his 
stainless  probity,  his  consistent  piety,  his  catholic  spir- 
it, his  recognized  leadership  among  evangelical  Chris- 
tians of  every  name,  and  his  relations  to  all  the  great 
Christian  enterprises  of  the  age,  seemed  to  call  for  a 
volume  which  should  trace  his  career  from  its  origin, 
and  indicate  the  sources  of  the  rare  and  rounded  char- 
acter which  he  maintained  even  to  the  last. 

Circumstances,  which  it  is  needless  to  mention,  turn- 
ed the  author's  attention  to  the  subject.  Having  a 
connection  by  marriage  with  some  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's  relatives,  he  had  for  more  than  twenty  years 
enjoyed  a  considerable  degree  of  intimacy  with  him, 
and  was  enabled  therefore,  on  many  points,  to  speak 
from  personal  observation.  From  the  living  repre- 
sentatives of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  he  met  the  heartiest 
sympathy  and  co-operation.  It  was,  indeed,  at  their 
suggestion  and  by  their  aid  that  the  present  volume 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

has  been  prepared.  It  does  not  pretend,  therefore,  to 
have  the  coohiess  of  judicial  impartiahty.  The  re- 
membrance of  Mr.  Frehnghnysen's  genial  goodness  is 
still  too  fresh  to  allow  those  who  knew  him  familiarly 
to  speak  of  his  character  with  stoic  calmness.  Hie 
liber  *  "  *  professiohe  pieiatis  aui  laudatus  erii,  aut  ex- 
cusatus.  Yet  the  reader  will  look  in  vain  for  indis- 
criminate eulogy.  It  is  believed  that  the  delineation 
given  does  not  transgress  the  bounds  of  truth,  in  let- 
ter, in  spirit,  or  in  the  impression  it  is  calculated  to 
produce.  The  great  aim  has  been  to  give,  in  moder- 
ate compass,  as  just  and  accurate  an  account  of  the 
growth  and  development  of  this  remarkable  man  as 
could  be  obtained  by  patient  and  diligent  inquiry. 
One  reason  of  the  insertion  of  so  many  statements  and 
letters  from  different  persons,  as  will  be  found  inter- 
spersed through  the  volume,  is  to  show  how  similar, 
or,  rather,  identical  was  the  impression  made  by  his 
virtues  on  all  the  classes  of  men,  lay  and  clerical,  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  If  any  still  deem  the  char- 
acter described  to  be  one  of  impossible  perfection,  it 
only  remains  to  assure  them  that  nothing  is  stated  ex- 
cept what  is  believed  on  the  amplest  and  most  satis- 
factory evidence — nothing  which  would  not  be  ac- 
cepted by  any  of  his  numerous  neighbors  and  towns- 
men as  either  true  of  their  own  knowledge,  or  as  what 
their  acquaintance  with  him  would  naturally  lead  them 
to  believe  and  expect.  Close  and  prolonged  inspec- 
tion is  a  severe  test  of  character,  but  it  is  precisely 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

tbose  who  saw  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  at  nearest  hand  and 
for  the  longest  time  who  cherish  the  deepest  reverence 
for  his  memory,  and  the  strongest  conviction  of  his 
unexampled  excellence. 

The  author  begs  leave  here  to  offer  his  grateful  ac- 
knowledgments to  the  kind  friends,  too  numerous  to 
specify  in  detail,  who  have  aided  him  by  the  commu- 
nication of  useful  papers  or  statements.  He  has  spared 
no  pains  to  gather  such  information  as  bore  upon  the 
subject,  but  has  reason  to  lament  that,  in  several  in- 
stances, it  was  found  impossible  to  obtain  details  suffi- 
ciently authentic  and  definite  to  be  inserted  in  this  bi- 
ography. 

Still,  he  trusts  that  his  work  will  not  be  found 
wholly  unworthy  of  its  subject,  and  he  commits  it  to 
the  press  with  the  prayer  that  the  blessed  Savior,  who 
was  pleased  to  make  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  so  useful  in 
his  life,  will  vouchsafe  to  honor  with  a  portion  of  the 
same  blessing  this  imperfect  record  of  his  course  and 
character. 

New  York,  June,  18G3. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HIS     ANCESTRY. 

I.  The  Rev.  Theo.  Jac.  Frelinghuysen. — II.  The  Rev.  John  Freling- 
huysen. — The  Jufvrouw  Hardenbergh.  —  III.  Major  Gen.  Fred- 
erick Frelinghuysen Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

HIS   TOUTH   AND   EDUCATION. 

1787—1808. 
Birth-place. — School  at  New  Brunswick. — Basking  Ridge. — Prince- 
ton.— Letter  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ingersoll. — Student  at  Law  in  Mill- 
stone.— Letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  I.  N.  Wyckoff. — In  the  office  of  the 
Hon.  Richard  Stockton. — Admission  to  the  Bar 28 

CHAPTER  III. 

PROFESSIONAL    CAREER    AT   THE    BAR. 

1808—1838. 
Settlement  at  Newark. — Marriage. — Studious  Habits. — First  Strik- 
ing Success. — Patriotic  Exertions  in  1812. — Same  in  1861. — At- 
torney General  of  the  State. — Legal  Characteristics. — Cases. — The 
Quaker  Case. — Proprietary  Case. — Leaving  the  Bar 40 

CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  THE   SENATE   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

1829—1835. 
Composition  of  the  Senate. — Great  Questions  agitated  — Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  Course. — The  Indian  Bill. — ^T'he  Sunda3'-Mail  Ques- 
tion.— Day  of  Fasting  for  the  Cholera. — Encomiums  of  Clay  and 
Webster. — Letter  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett 59 


VI 11  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

CnANCELLOn    OF   THE    tTNIVERSlTY    OF  THE    CITY   OP   NEW  YORK. 

1839—1850. 
Return  to  his  Profession  at  Newark. — Call  to  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York. — Installation  as  Chancellor. — Success. — Pub- 
lic Usefulness. — Nomination  for  Vice-President. — Letter  of  Ac- 
ceptance.— The  Canvass. — Letter  to  Louisville. — Eesult,  and  the 
disappointment  it  then  caused. — Not  now  to  be  regretted. — Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  retires  from  the  University. — Letter  of  Dr.  Tayler 
Lewis Page  84 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PEESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE. 

1850—1862. 
Early  History  of  the  Institution.— Inauguration  of  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen.—Growth  of  the  College.- The  President's  Diligence.— Letter 
from  Dr.  Crosby. — Death  of  the  first  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen. — Bacca- 
laureate Addresses.— Useful  to  the  End.— Death.— Funeral ..  103 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PERSONAL   TRAITS    AND    HABITS. 

His  Person.— Social  and  Domestic  Habits.— Hospitality.— Popular- 
ity.— Mental  Traits  :  Insight,  Judgment,  Imagination. — Reading. 
— Style. — Speeches. — Eloquence. — Instances. — Reminiscence  of 
Dr.Magie 114: 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

ORIGIN   AND   CHARACTER    OF    HIS   PIETY, 

Early  Impressions. — Conversion  at  Newark. — Influence  of  his  Broth- 
er's Death.— Eminence  of  his  Piety. — Its  Elements  :  1.  Simplicity 
of  Faith;  2.  Humility;  3.  Devotional  Habits ;  4.  Geniality;  5.Ten- 
dernesss  of  Conscience  ;  6.  Completeness ;  7.  The  Fruit  of  Culture. 
— Letter  from  Dr.  Woodbridge 129 

CHAPTER  IX. 

HIS    RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

At  Home— at  the  Bar — in  Washington— in  Church  Relations — Sun- 
day-school.— Charity. — Catholicity  of  Feeling 151 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  X. 

PERSONAL  EFFORTS  FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  MEN. 

Letter  to  Mr.  Lincoln. — Consultation  about  entering  the  Ministry. — 
Dr.  Spring's  Letter. — Assiduity  and  Skill  in  speaking  to  impenitent 
Persons. — Grounds  of  his  Success. — Letters. — Correspondence  with 
Mr. Clay;  with  Mr. Webster;  Governor  Pennington ;  Judge  Nevi- 
us. — Letter  of  Judge  Chambers. — Other  Examples. — Words  of  J. 
P.  Jackson. — Perseverance Page  1G8 

CHAPTER  XI. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  HIS  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Its  general  Character. — Fifteen  Letters  to  a  young  Relative  pursuing 
his  Education. — Two  to  another  young  Relative. — Four  to  the  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  A.  H.  Cornell. — A  Letter  of  Condolence  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  De 
Witt 192 


(Cl 


CHAPTER  XIL 

CONNECTION   "WITH   BENEVOLENT   INSTITUTIONS. 

A.  B.  C.  F.  M. — American  Bible  Society. — American  Tract  Society. 
—  American  Colonization  Society.  —  American  Sunday  -  school 
Union. — American  Temperance  Union 213 

CHAPTER  Xin. 

THE   CLOSING    SCENE. 

Origin  of  his  Sickness. — Fear  of  Death. — Fear  overcome. — Profound 
Humility. — Submission. — Temptations. — Remembrances. — Inter- 
view with  Dr.  Campbell. — Advice  to  a  Youth. — Desire  to  Depart. 
—The  peaceful  End 253 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Gift  of  God. — Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  Completeness  of  Character. — 
General  Recognition  of  it. — Proven  by  Trial. — Theme  of  Gratitude 
to  God. — Encouragement  to  others. — A  Proof  of  Christianity. — 
An  Example  of  cheerful  Piety. — Its  fundamental  and  characteris- 
tic Element 264 

Appendix 275 

Index 283 


THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 


THE   LATE 


HON.  THEO.  FRELINGHUYSEN,  LLD. 


LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HIS  ANCESTRY. 

I.  The  Rev.  Theo.  Jac.  Frelinghuysen. — II.  The  Rev.  John  Freling- 
hiiysen. — The  Jufvrouw  Hardenbergh. — III.  Major  Gen.  Fred, 
Frelinghuysen. 

"  The  glory  of  cliildren  are  their  fathers,"  nor  is  any 
reasonable  man  insensible  to  the  value  of  an  honora- 
ble descent,  especially  if  to  earthly  distinction  there  is 
added  the  blessed  memory  of  the  just.  The  subject 
of  this  volume  was  not  accustomed  to  boast  of  any 
thing,  but  he  is  known  to  have  had  pleasure  in  con- 
templating the  virtues  of  those  who  went  before  him, 
and  to  have  derived  a  healthful  stimulus  from  their 
example. 

I.  The  first  of  the  name  who  came  to  this  country 
was  the  Rev.  Theodoras  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen,  or,  as 
he  sometimes  wrote  his  signature,  Freylinghausen.  He 
was  born  in  East  Friesland,  now  a  part  of  the  king- 
dom of  Hanover,  about  the  year  1691,  and  was  ordain- 
ed to  the  pastoral  office  in  1717.  The  circumstances 
which  led  to  his  coming  to  this  country  were  striking- 
ly providential.  The  Dutch  churches  in  America  were 
at  that  early  day  chiefly  supplied  with  ministers  from 
Holland.  It  happened  that  a  request  had  been  re- 
ceived by  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  asking  them  to 


14  LIFE   OF  FKELINGHUYSEN. 

send  a  pious  minister  to  America,  and  one  of  the  pas- 
tors, named  Sicco  Tjadde,  interested  himself  to  procure 
a  proper  person.  "While  Tjadde  was  pursuing  his  in- 
quiries, Mr.  Frelinghuysen  passed  through  the  town 
where  this  pastor  lived,  being  on  his  way  to  Embden 
to  assume  the  rectorship  of  the  academy  at  that  place. 
He  spent  the  night  at  the  house  of  an  elder  of  the 
Church,  who  invited  him  to  conduct  the  evening  de- 
votions. He  readily  consented,  and,  after  reading  a 
chapter  in  the  Bible,  gave  a  short  exposition,  and  con- 
cluded with  prayer.  The  elder  was  so  much  pleased 
with  the  service,  and  with  the  whole  spirit  and  con- 
versation of  the  young  minister,  that  on  his  departure 
in  the  morning  he  made  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  promise 
to  stay  at  his  house  on  his  return,  and  then  hastening 
to  his  pastor,  cried  out,  "  I  have  found  a  man  to  go  to 
America."  In  due  time  the  promise  was  fulfilled  by 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  and,  after  consultation,  he  agreed 
to  accept  the  call  and  emigrate  to  America. 

He  arrived  in  this  country  in  the  first  month  of  the 
year  1720,  and  at  once  entered  upon  his  labors,  which 
extended  over  a  wide  field  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ear- 
itan  and  its  afiluents.  His  place  of  residence  was  about 
three  miles  west  of  New  Brunswick,  from  which,  as 
a  centre,  he  made  excursions  as  the  wants  of  his  peo- 
ple demanded,  preaching  alternately  in  Earitan,  New 
Brunswick,  Six-Mile  Eun,  and  North  Branch,  and  was 
constantly  active  in  catechising  and  instructing  the 
youth.  He  encountered  many  difficulties,  owing  in 
part  to  the  scattered  population,  dense  forests,  un- 
bridged  streams,  and  ill-marked  roads  incident  to  a 
newly-settled  country,  but  still  more  to  the  state  of  the 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  15 

people,  among  whom  formalism  abounded,  leading,  as 
it  always  does  in  the  end,  to  a  great  relaxation  of 
morals.  But  the  man  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  The 
times  required  a  ministry  prosecuted  "in  the  spirit 
and  power  of  Elias,"  and  such  he  aimed  at.  He  not 
only  presented  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  with 
fidelity  and  energy,  but  applied  them  with  a  fearless 
pungency,  which  often  gave  great  offense.  And  al- 
though bitterly  opposed  and  cruelly  slandered,  he  nev- 
er yielded,  but  maintained  to  the  last  the  spirit  exhib- 
ited in  the  declaration  of  one  of  his  early  discourses : 
"  I  would  sooner  die  a  thousand  deaths  than  not  preach 
the  truth."  His  prevailing  temper  of  mind  seems  to 
be  indicated  by  the  concluding  words  of  the  preface 
to  a  small  collection  of  sermons  first  printed  in  1783, 
^^ Laudem  non  qucero  ;  culpa7n  non  iimeo''' — I  seek  not 
praise ;  I  fear  not  blame.  All  accounts  agree  in  refer- 
ence to  him,  that  he  was  a  great  blessing  to  the  Dutch 
Church  in  America.  The  Eev.  Gilbert  Tennent  said 
of  him :  "  The  labors  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  a  Dutch 
minister,  were  much  blessed  to  the  peo^Dle  of  New 
Brunswick  and  places  adjacent,  about  the  time  of  his 
coming  among  them.  When  I  came  there,  which  was 
about  seven  years  after,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
much  of  the  fruits  of  his  ministry.  Divers  of  his  hear- 
ers, with  whom  I  had  the  opportunity  of  conversing, 
appeared  to  be  converted  persons  by  their  soundness 
in  principle.  Christian  experience,  and  pious  practice ; 
and  these  persons  declared  that  his  ministrations  were 
the  means  thereof  This,  together  with  a  kind  letter 
which,  he  wrote  me  respecting  the  necessity  of  dividing 
the  Word  aright,  and  giving  to  every  one  his  portion 


16  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

in  due  season,  tlirougli  the  Divine  blessing,  excited  me 
to  greater  earnestness  in  ministerial  labors."  Simi- 
lar testimony  is  borne  by  Whitfield,  who,  in  his  jour- 
nal of  1739,  speaks  of  an  extensive  work  of  grace  as 
the  fruit  of  Frelinghuysen's  ministry  in  New  Bruns- 
wick and  that  vicinity.  So,  also,  does  President  Ed- 
wards, in  his  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversions,  first 
published  in  1736.  There  were  added  at  this  time  to 
the  Church  of  Earitan  alone  forty -four  persons,  a  num- 
ber which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Messier, 
the  present  pastor  of  the  church,  must  have  been  near- 
ly, if  not  quite,  equal  to  one  from  each  family  in  the 
congregation. 

His  printed  sermons,  which  a  few  years  since  were 
collected  and  translated  by  the  Eev.  William  Dem- 
AREST,  show  him  to  have  been  an  evangelical  and  pun- 
gent preacher.  His  labors  continued  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century ;  and  although  he  was  often  at- 
tacked in  the  civil  courts,  before  the  colonial  authori- 
ties, through  the  press,  and  by  complaint  to  the  Classis 
of  Amsterdam,  he  never  succumbed.  Amid  all  his  tri- 
als, he  was  sustained  by  the  countenance  of  his  ecclesi- 
astical superiors,  by  the  consolations  of  grace  in  his  own 
heart,  by  the  Divine  blessing  upon  his  "  weak  minis- 
trations," as  he  called  them,  and  by  the  fulfillment  of 
the  covenant  to  his  household.  All  his  children  were 
believers.  His  five  sons  were  ordained  to  the  minis- 
try, and  his  two  daughters  were  married  to  ministers. 

The  eldest  son,  Theodore,  was  sent  to  Holland  for 
his  education,  and,  after  being  ordained  to  the  minis- 
try, came  to  this  country  in  1745.  The  next  year  he 
was  settled  over  the  Church  in  Albany,  New  York. 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  17 

Mrs.  Grant,  of  Laggan,  in  her  "  Memoirs  of  an  Ameri- 
can Lady,"  speaks  of  him  as  "the  apostolic  and  much- 
beloved  Freylinghausen."  According  to  the  same  au- 
thority, he  was  ardent  in  his  disposition,  and  frank  and 
popular  in  his  manners.  His  preaching  was  earnest 
and  eloquent,  his  life  spotless,  and  his  concern  for  his 
people  warm  and  tender.  He  was  very  much  endear- 
ed to  the  Church  and  the  whole  community ;  but,  to- 
ward the  end  of  his  career,  a  regiment  of  royal  troops 
stationed  at  Albany  introduced  customs  and  manners 
which  led  to  a  serious  deterioration  of  religion  and 
morals,  despite  all  the  influence  and  authority  he  could 
exert.  Deeply  wounded  by  the  failure  of  his  efforts 
to  stay  the  torrent  of  fashionable  innovation,  he  with- 
drew from  the  contest,  and  sailed  to  Holland,  whither, 
according  to  some  accounts,  he  went  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  funds  to  establish  a  literary  and  theolog- 
ical institution ;  but  he  was  lost  at  sea.  The  people 
of  Albany  long  mourned  his  departure,  and  cherished 
his  memory  with  the  deepest  affection. 

The  third  and  fourth  sons,  Jacobus  and  Feedi- 
NANDUS,  were  sent  to  Holland,  where  they  passed 
through  the  usual  course  of  study,  and  were  ordained 
to  the  ministry.  They  embarked  for  home,  with  the 
intention  of  taking  charge,  the  one  of  the  Church  of 
Wawwarsing  or  Marbletown,  the  other  of  that  of  Kin- 
derhook;  but  both,  while  at  sea,  fell  victims  to  the 
smallpox  in  the  year  1753. 

The  youngest  son,  Henricus,  pursued  his  studies 
in  this  country,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel 
by  the  direction  of  what  was  called  the  Coetus.  In 
the  year  1756  he  took  charge  of  the  churches  of  Waw- 


18  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

warsing  and  Eochester,  in  Ulster  County,  New  York.- 
The  next  year  he  was  regularly  ordained  and  induct- 
ed into  office.  Very  soon  afterward  he  was  attacked 
by  smallpox,  and  died  at  Naponoch. 

Of  his  daughters,  one,  Anna,  became  the  wife  of  the 
Eev.  William  Jackson,  who,  having  begun  his  studies 
under  John  Frelinghuysen,  at  Earitan,  finished  them 
in  Holland,  where  he  was  ordained.  Eeturning  home 
in  1757,  he  was  settled  over  the  churches  of  Staten  Isl- 
and and  Bergen,  where  he  prosecuted  a  faithful  and 
successful  ministry  for  thirty  years,  when  he  was  laid 
aside  by  grievous  afflictions.  His  life,  however,  was 
prolonged  until  July,  1813.  His  wife  died  in  May, 
1810,  aged  72  years.  The  other,  MARaARET,  was  mar- 
ried to  the  Eev.  Thomas  Eomeyn,  then  settled  on  Long 
Island.  She  died  early,  but  left  one  son,  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen  Eomeyn,  who  became  a  minister,  and 
succeeded  Dr.  Hardenbergh  in  the  same  charge  at  Ear- 
itan to  which  his  grandfather  and  his  uncle  had  suc- 
cessively ministered.  He  was  a  young  man  of  fine 
promise,  but  was  suddenly  removed  by  death  within 
less  than  eighteen  months  from  the  date  of  his  instal- 
lation, 

II.  The  Eev.  Theo.  Jac.  Frelinghuysen  was  succeed- 
ed in  his  charge  on  the  Earitan  by  his  second  son, 
John,  who,  having  been  educated  and  ordained  in 
Holland,  commenced  his  labors  in  August,  1750.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  greater  suavity  than  his 
father,  but  was  equally  firm  in  upholding  the  claims 
of  spiritual  Christianity,  He  was  distinguished  for  his 
gifts  in  the  pulpit,  for  his  assiduity  in  the  religious 
training  of  the  young,  and  for  his  zealous  endeavors 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  19 

to  raise  up  wortliy  candidates  for  the  sacred  office. 
There  is  still  standing  in  Somerville  a  house  built  of 
bricks  brought  by  him  from  Holland,  where  he  resi- 
ded, and  where  Hardenbergh,  Jackson,  Leydt,  and  oth- 
ers attended  a  nascent  theological  seminary  under  his 
direction.  Although  the  old  troubles  between  the 
parties  known  respectively  as  Coetus  and  Conferentie- 
still  continued,  yet  a  more  than  ordinary  blessing  rest- 
ed upon  his  ministry,  and  much  was  expected  from 
him  in  the  future ;  but  these  hopes  were  blasted  by  his 
early  death  in  September,  1754.  His  ministerial  life 
being  so  short,  very  little  is  known  in  detail  of  his 
character,  but  his  death  was  very  generally  and  deep- 
ly lamented.  Much  more  is  known  of  his  wife,  who 
survived  him  more  than  fifty  years,  and  was  as  emi- 
nent in  her  day  for  intelligent  piety  as  any  of  the  fe- 
male saints  of  the  Old  Testament  or  the  New. 

Dinah  Van  Berg  was  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
and  distinguished  East  India  merchant  who  resided 
in  Amsterdam.     While  yet  young  she  was  overtaken 

*  The  "  Coetus"  consisted  of  an  assembly  of  ministers  of  the  Dutch 
Church  (organized  in  1738,  but  not  put  in  operation  until  1747),  who 
proposed  to  administer  discipline,  and  license  and  ordain  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  without  requiring  them  to  visit  Holland  to  be  edu- 
cated and  approved  there.  The  "  Conferentie"  was  a  rival  associa- 
tion (organized  in  1755),  who  insisted  that  in  every  such  case  the  ex- 
press authority  of  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  should  be  obtained.  A 
lamentable  schism  thus  originated,  which,  in  some  cases,  scarcely 
stopped  short  of  actual  violence,  and  did  immense  damage  to  the  in- 
terests of  religion  and  morals.  The  difficulties  were  finally  composed 
by  a  convention  brought  together  through  the  agency  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Livingston  in  the  year  1771,  and  in  the  end  all  the  ministers  and 
churches  of  Hollandish  descent  were  united  under  the  title  of  the  Re- 
formed Protestant  Dutch  Church  in  North  America. 


20  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

by  Divine  grace,  and  at  once  became  a  firm  and  deci- 
ded Christian.  Although  in  a  very  unfavorable  atmo- 
sphere, and  surrounded  by  gay  and  worldly  persons, 
she  maintained  an  eminent  consistency  of  character. 
This  fidelity  to  principle  subjected  her  to  considerable 
and  prolonged  opposition,  which,  with  other  causes,  at 
length  affected  her  health.  Her  sickness  increased  to 
such  a  degree  that  her  life  was  despaired  of.  She, 
however,  insisted  that,  in  answer  to  her  prayers,  she 
would  be  restored,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  indicate 
the  day  when  her  recovery  would  commence.  The 
prediction  was  laughed  at  by  her  attending  physician, 
who  considered  her  case  altogether  hopeless.  When 
the  day  arrived,  her  condition  remained  unchanged 
until  toward  sunset,  when  she  arose  from  the  bed 
which  she  had  not  left  for  weeks,  and  walked  across 
the  room  ;  and  from  that  time  her  recovery  was  steady 
and  rapid.  The  circumstance  excited  much  interest 
in  the  city ;  and  when  Dr.  Livingston  visited  Amster- 
dam many  years  afterward,  he  was  inquired  of  by 
great  numbers  of  persons  respecting  this  extraordina- 
ry woman. 

During  her  sickness,  John  Frelinghuysen,  who  was 
then  pursuing  his  theological  studies  in  the  mother 
country,  frequently  called  upon  her,  and  the  acquaint- 
ance ripened  into  a  mutual  attachment.  Her  parents 
were  decidedly  opposed  to  the  connection,  partly  be- 
cause of  the  profession  of  her  suitor,  and  partly  because 
of  the  hardships  which  must  necessarily  be  incurred 
by  those  living  in  a  newly-settled  country.  Finding 
their  opposition  invincible,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  set  off 
on  his  return  home  alone,  but,  after  being  one  day  out 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  21 

at  sea,  a  contrary  wind  drove  tlie  vessel  in  whicli  he 
had  embarked  directly  back  to  port.     He  seized  the 
occasion  as  a  providential  opening  for  the  renewal  of 
his  suit,  and  this  time  was  successful.     Ee-embarking 
with  his  wife,  he  had  a  prosperous  voyage,  and,  reach- 
ing home,  commenced  the  ministry  which,  as  has  been 
said,  was  so  acceptable,  and  yet  so  soon  terminated  by 
his  death  when  only  twenty-five  years  of  age.   His  wid- 
ow, who  had  greatly  endeared  herself  to  the  commu- 
nity by  her  piety,  energy,  and  usefulness,  determined 
to  return  to  Holland.    Her  preparations  were  all  made, 
a  passage  engaged,  and  the  day  fixed  for  her  depar- 
ture, when  she  was  surprised  by  a  proposal  of  mar- 
riage from  one  of  the  young  men  who  had  been  study- 
ing theology  under  the  direction  of  her  husband,  to 
which,  in  her  astonishment,  she  answered,  "  My  child, 
what  are  you  thinking  about?"     He  had  contempla- 
ted this  step  for  some  time,  and  had  consulted  their 
common  friends,  but,  out  of  respect  for  her  grief  for 
her  recent  bereavement,  had  refrained  from  declaring 
himself  until  the  last  moment.     This  young  man  was 
Jacobus  Eutsen  Hardenbergh,  afterward  widely 
known  as  a  divine,  a  scholar,  and  patriot,  a  personal 
friend  of  Washington,  and  the  first  President  of  the 
college  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  of  which  he  was,  to 
a  large  extent,  the  founder.     He  succeeded  in  per- 
suading the  widow  to  countermand  the  preparations 
for  her  departure  and  to  accept  his  hand  in  niarriage, 
all  other  considerations  to  this  end  being  greatly  aided 
in  their  influence  by  the  wide  prospect  of  usefulness 
to  the  Master's  cause  which  opened  itself  before  her  in 
case  she  should  remain  in  America.     She  continued 


22  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

tlie  faitliful  companion  of  Dr.  Hardenbergli's  labors 
and  trials  in  Earitan,  in  Mombacus,  N.  Y.,  and  finally 
in  New  Brunswick,  where,  after  having  survived  him 
for  seventeen  years,  she  terminated  her  useful  career 
by  a  triumphant  death,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
one  years,  on  the  26th  day  of  March,  1807,  The  follow- 
ing stanza,  engraved  upon  her  tombstone  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  First  Keformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church 
in  New  Brunswick,  indicates  the  degree  in  which  her 
high  attainments  in  grace  were  regarded  by  those  who 
survived  her. 

"Tell  how  she  climbed  the  everlasting  hills, 
Surveying  all  the  realms  above  ; 
Borne  on  a  strong- winged  faith,  and  on 
The  fiery  wheels  of  an  immortal  love." 

The  children  of  the  first  marriage,  the  Jufvrouw  Har- 
denbergh,  as  she  was  usually  styled  by  her  neighbors, 
were  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  latter,  named  Eva, 
was  married  to  Mr.  Caspar  Yan  Nostrand,  who  at  an 
early  day  removed  to  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  where  nu- 
merous descendants  of  the  family  are  still  remaining. 
The  former,  who  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  was  named  Frederick. 

III.  Frederick  Frelinghuysef  was  born  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1753.  Dedicated  in  his  infancy  to  the 
Lord,  he  was  carefully  trained  in  the  knowledge  and 
practice  of  the  truth.  It  was  his  mother's  constant 
and  anxious  desire  that  he  should  become,  like  his 
father  and  grandfather,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and 
in  this  she  was  cordially  seconded  by  her  husband. 
But  it  was  in  vain.  The  young  man  did  not  feel  him- 
self fitted  or  called  to  the  sacred  oifice ;  and  although 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  23 

he  yielded  to  importunity  so  far  as  to  study  theology 
for  six  months,  yet  at  the  end  of  that  time  his  disin- 
clination still  continued,  and  he  turned  his  face  in  an- 
other direction.  Tradition  intimates  that  there  was 
something  in  the  rigidity  and  strictness  of  his  step- 
father, especially  in  the  matter  of  Sunday  observance, 
which  somewhat  repelled  young  people,  and  hindered 
them  from  seeing  the  natural  attractiveness  of  that 
wisdom  whose  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all 
whose  paths  are  peace.  General  Frelinghuysen,  so  far 
from  becoming  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  did  not  enter 
into  the  full  communion  of  the  Church ;  but  it  was 
the  opinion  of  his  last  pastor,  the  late  Eev.  Dr.  Cannon, 
who  afterward  became  Professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  JST.  J.,  that  at  the  end  of 
life  the  pious  lessons  of  his  early  years  returned  to  his 
memory,  and  wrought  a  gracious  result  npon  his  heart. 
He  received  his  collegiate  education  at  the  College 
of  New  Jersey,  Princeton,  where  the  Eev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Stanhope  Smith,  Dr.  Samuel  Spring,  and  James  Mad- 
ison were  among  his  fellow-students.  After  his  grad- 
uation in  1770,  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law, 
and  when  he  was  of  age  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Here  he  soon  displayed  the  possession  of  rare  gifts  and 
attainments.  Such  was  his  reputation,  that  in  1775, 
when  only  twenty-two  years  old,  he  was  chosen  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  where 
he  was  placed  on  the  important  Committee  of  Public 
Safety.  The  next  year  he  was  chosen  to  the  same 
body,  which  adopted  a  Constitution,  and  changed  its 
title  from  "  Provincial  Congress"  to  the  "  Convention 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey."    In  1778  he  was  elect- 


24  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN". 

ed,  on  joint  ballot  of  tlie  Legislature,  to  represent  New 
Jersey  in  the  Continental  Congress ;  but  in  the  follow- 
ing year  he  resigned  his  seat,  not,  however,  from  any 
failure  of  patriotism,  or  any  desire  to  escape  his  share 
of  the  public  burdens,  as  appears  by  the  following  ex- 
tract from  his  letter  of  resignation,  addressed  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  his  native  state: 

"  It  is  needless  for  me  to  remind  the  honorable  Leg- 
islature that  I  did  with  great  reluctance  accept  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  delegate  for  this  state  in  Congress.  I 
was  then  sufficiently  sensible  that  the  trust  was  too 
important  for  my  xjears  and  abilities.  I  am  now  fully 
convinced  that  I  should  do  injustice  to  my  country  did 
I  not  decline  that  service. 

"In  doing  this  I  am  conscious  to  myself  that  I  am 
merely  actuated  by  motives  for  the  public  good,  well 
knowing  that,  whatever  be  my  abilities,  they  will  be 
■useless  to  the  state  in  the  supreme  council  of  the  na- 
tion, and  that  the  other  appointment  with  which  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey  have  been  pleased  to  honor 
me  in  the  county  of  Somerset  is  more  than  sufficient 
to  employ  my  whole  attention." 

It  appears,  however,  that  at  a  later  period  of  the 
Eevolutionary  struggle  he  returned  to  the  civil  serv- 
ice of  the  country,  for  his  name  is  found  on  the  rolls  of 
the  Continental  Congress  for  the  years  1782  and  1783, 
as  a  representative  from  New  Jersey. 

While  holding  his  seat  in  Provincial  Congress  in 
the  first  years  of  the  Eevolution,  he  had  also  been  act- 
ing as  captain  of  a  corps  of  artillery,  a  volunteer  com- 
pany of  Continental  troops,  and  in  this  capacity  took 
part  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Trenton.     There  still  re- 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  25 

mains  in  tlie  family  of  his  oldest  son  a  serviceable 
sword,  whicli  in  that  conflict  was  surrendered  to  him 
by  a  British  of&cer.  A  tradition,  the  accuracy  of 
which  it  is  now  impossible  to  determine,  states  that  it 
was  by  a  shot  from  his  pistol  that  Colonel  Eahl,  the 
commander  of  the  Hessian  forces,  was  mortally  wound- 
ed. He  afterward  was  made  a  colonel  in  the  militia 
of  his  native  county,  Somerset,  and  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  war.  He  was  present  in  the  skirmishes 
at  Springfield  and  Elizabeth,  and  also  at  the  battle  of 
Monmouth  Court-house,  in  June,  1778.  After  the  con- 
clusion of  the  war,  he  received  repeated  testimonials 
of  public  confidence  in  the  shape  of  appointments  to 
various  ofiices  in  the  county  and  in  the  state,  and  in 
1793  was  chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  This  position  domestic  bereavements  and  the 
claims  of  his  family  compelled  him  to  resign  in  the 
year  1796.  During  the  administration  of  Washing- 
ton, a  formidable  sedition  arose  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, known  as  the  Whisky  Insurrection,  A  very 
large  array  of  forces  was  summoned  from  the  militia 
of  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey, 
to  put  down  the  insurgents.  The  President  gave  Mr, 
Frelinghuysen  a  major  general's  command  among  the 
troops  from  the  two  latter  states.  Fortunately,  the 
overwhelming  number  of  men  sent  into  the  field  made 
resistance  hopeless,  and  the  insurrection  was  quelled 
with  little  or  no  bloodshed. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1800,  he  was  called  to  de- 
liver an  oration  in  New  Brunswick  on  the  death  of 
the  Father  of  his  Country,  This  oration,  copies  of 
which  are  still  extant,  glows  with  the  ardor  to  be  ex- 

B 


26  LIFE   OF  FEELDSTGHUYSEN. 

pected  in  one  who  shared  in  the  toils  and  sacrifices  of 
the  Eevolution.  He  continued  actively  engaged  in 
various  public  and  private  duties  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1804,  on  the  same  day  of  the  same  month 
on  which  he  was  born.  It  is  a  curious  but  indubita- 
ble fact,  that  at  the  commencement  of  what  proved  to 
be  his  last  illness,  and  when  it  was  by  no  means  of 
an  alarming  character,  he  foretold  its  fatal  issue,  and 
named  the  day  on  which  he  should  die.  And  that 
day  he  did  die. 

Mortuary  inscriptions  are  not  always  the  most  trust- 
worthy evidences  of  character,  yet  it  is  believed  that 
the  following  extracts  from  the  lines  engraved  on  the 
monument  erected  over  his  remains  in  the  cemetery 
near  Millstone  are  strictly  correct : 

"  He  died  greatly  beloved  and  lamented.  Endow- 
ed by  nature  with  superior  talents,  he  was  from  his 
youth  intrusted  by  his  country  with  her  most  impor- 
tant concerns,  and  never  did  he  disappoint  her  expec- 
tations. At  the  bar  he  was  eloquent,  in  the  Senate  he 
was  wise,  in  the  field  he  was  brave.  Candid,  gener- 
ous, and  just,  he  was  constant  and  ardent  in  his  friend- 
ships. Ever  the  patron  and  protector  of  merit,  he 
gave  his  hand  to  the  young,  his  counsel  to  the  middle- 
aged,  his  support  to  dechning  years.  He  left  to  his 
children  the  rich  legacy  of  a  life  unsullied  by  a  stain, 
and  adorned  with  numerous  expressions  of  public  use- 
fulness and  private  beneficence." 

General  Frelinghuysen  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Gertrude  Schenck,  who  died  in  March, 
1794,  and  whose  children  were  five  in  number :  three 
sons,  named  John,  Theodore,  and  Frederick ;  and  two 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  27 

daughters — Maria,  who  was  married  to  the  Eev.  John 
Cornell,  and  of  whom  some  notice  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix,  and  Catharine,  who  became  the  wife  of  the 
late  Rev.  Gideon  F.  Judd,  D.D.,  of  Catskill.  The  gen- 
eral's second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Ann  Yaed,  a  lady 
of  great  force  of  character  and  refinement  of  mind, 
who  survived  her  husband  for  many  years.  Her  chil- 
dren were  two :  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  the  late  James 
B,  Elmendorf,  M.D.,  of  Millstone,  and  Sarah,  who  died 
in  her  youth.  Of  all  these  children,  the  only  one  now 
surviving  is  the  widow  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Judd. 

Note. — The  foregoing  account  has  been  compiled  mainly  from  va- 
rious publications  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Messier,  of  Somerville,  New  Jersey, 
especially  the  two  entitled  "A  brief  History  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Raritan,  from  its  organization  to  the  year  1834: ;"  and 
"The  Hollanders  in  New  Jersey,  with  Notices  of  some  of  their  De- 
scendants ;"  read  before  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  Septem- 
ber 12, 1820 ;  by  Rev.  Abraham  Messier,  D.D.  Other  details  have 
been  derived  from  traditions  still  existing  in  the  family,  and  believed 
to  be  entirely  authentic. 


28  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HIS  YOUTH  AND   EDUCATIOlSr, 

1787—1808. 

Birthplace. — School  at  New  Brunswick. — Basking  Kidge. — Prince- 
ton.— Letter  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ingersoll. — Student  at  Law  in  Mill- 
stone.— Letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  I.  N.  WyckofF. — In  the  Office  of  the 
Hon.  Richard.  Stockton. — Admission  to  the  Bar. 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen  was  born  in  Franklin 
Township,  Somerset  County,  N.  J.,  on  the  28th  of 
March,  1787.  The  family  homestead  at  Millstone, 
where  he  was  brought  up,  and  which  he  subsequently 
purchased  from  the  estate  of  his  younger  brother,  con- 
tinued in  his  possession  until  the  year  18-iO,  when  it 
passed  into  other  hands,  and  shortly  afterward  was  en- 
tirely destroyed  by  fire.  The  engraving  on  the  oppo- 
site page  presents  a  correct  view  of  the  spacious  and 
convenient  mansion  as  it  appeared  twenty -five  years 
ago.  Here  he  spent  his  early  years,  receiving  such 
rudiments  of  learning  as  were  afforded  at  a  small 
neighborhood  school  on  the  banks  of  the  Millstone. 
Afterward,  about  the  year  1798,  he,  in  company  with 
his  brother  Frederick,  was  sent  to  New  Brunswick  for 
the  purpose  of  attending  the  grammar-school  in  con- 
nection with  Queen's  College,  at  that  time  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  Jno.  Lindsley,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  The  school  was  held 
in  the  old  College  building,  erected  on  the  ground 
where  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  now  stands. 
Dr.  Ephraim  Smith,  the  late  Col.  James  Neilson,  and 


■'tfr'Vwr'iiiiiiWM  iwIiHP  \['i  mtlMiWU'/- 


HIS  YOUTH  AND  EDUCATION.  31 

other  gentlemen  of  social  distinction,  were  at  this  time 
fellow-students  of  the  Frelinghuysens,  although  in  a 
more  advanced  class.  In  1800  Mr.  Lindsley  relin- 
quished his  rectorship  of  the  grammar-school,  and  the 
boys  returned  to  their  father's  house  at.  Millstone. 

At  this  time  an  event  occurred  which  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  considered  one  of  the  most  important  and  de- 
cisive in  his  whole  life.  Being  rather  indisposed  to 
close  mental  application,  he  requested  his  father  to 
forego  his  purpose  of  giving  him  a  liberal  education, 
and  allow  him  to  remain  upon  the  homestead  and  be- 
come a  farmer.  His  father  yielded  to  his  earnest  wish, 
and  the  point  seemed  settled.  But  some  time  after- 
ward, when  the  general  was  called  away  to  the  seat 
of  government  on  public  business,  his  wife  took  the 
matter  in  hand,  packed  Theodore's  trunk,  and  sent  him 
off  to  a  classical  school.  He  was  greatly  vexed  at  this 
step,  which  seemed  to  him  to  be  only  an  instance  of 
the  harshness  and  oppression  usually  attributed  to 
stepmothers.  But  in  after  years  he  changed  his  view 
entirely.  He  declared  that  to  her  decisive  action  he 
owed  all  his  subsequent  success  in  life ;  nor  was  he 
ever  weary  of  recounting  his  obligations  in  this  and 
other  matters  to  his  father's  second  wife.  That  lady 
was  a  signal  blessing  to  Theodore  and  Frederick.  She 
took  particular  pains  in  forming  their  principles,  and 
in  inculcating  the  graceful  and  high-bred  courtesy  for 
which  they  were  distinguished. 

The  school  to  which,  by  the  wise  foresight  of  Mrs. 
Frelinghuysen,  Theodore  was  sent  in  order  to  be  pre- 
pared for  college,  was  the  classical  academy  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  a  village  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the 


32  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUySEN. 

county.  This  institution  had  been  founded  the  pre- 
vious year  by  the  Eev.  Kobert  Finley,  D.D.,  -whose 
name  has  attained  a  widespread  and  enduring  celeb- 
rity as  the  founder  of  the  American  Colonization  So- 
ciety. From  the  interesting  and  instructive  memoir 
of  his  life  prepared  by  the  late  Eev.  Isaac  Y.  Brown 
(2d  edition,  Philad.,  1857),  it  appears  that  this  insti- 
tution was  really  worthy  of  the  high  reputation  which 
it  enjoyed  for  twenty  years  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Fin- 
ley,  and  afterward,  for  a  shorter  period,  while  conduct- 
ed by  his  successor  in  the  pastoral  of&ce  at  the  Ridge, 
the  late  Eev.  William  Craig  Brownlee,  D.D.  Dr. 
Finley  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  a  thorough  disci- 
plinarian, a  skillful  teacher,  and  particularly  distin- 
guished for  his  ability  to  awaken  the  interest  of  his 
pupils  in  what  they  were  studying.  He  had  a  natu- 
ral fondness  for  teaching,  and  gave  his  whole  mind  to 
the  work.  His  influence  with  the  scholars  was  in- 
creased by  his  sacred  profession,  and  the  uncommon 
power  and  unction  which  marked  his  efibrts  in  the 
pulpit.  The  academy  soon  obtained  an  honorable 
name,  and  attracted  more  applicants  for  admission  than 
he  was  willing  to  receive.  Such  families  as  the  Bay- 
ards, Lindsleys,  Southards,  Kirkpatricks,  and  others, 
were  glad  to  secure  its  advantages  for  their  children. 
The  Eev.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  of  Eingoes,  N.  J.,  states, 
in  a  letter  to  the  author,  that  he  and  the  late  Hon. 
Saml.  L.  Southard  (afterward  Mr.  F.'s  colleague  in  the 
Senate)  commenced  the  study  of  Latin  with  Dr.  Finley 
in  August,  1799.  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year  they 
were  joined  by  Philip  Lindsley  (afterward  President 
of  the  University  of  Nashville,  Tenn.),  and  by  Theo. 


HIS   YOUTH  AND   EDUCATION.  83 

Frelinghuysen.  They  constituted  the  first  class  of 
the  academy.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  says  that  Mr.  F.  was 
a  moral  and  amiable  youth,  beloved  by  his  classmates. 

All  these  were  admitted  in  September,  1802,  to  the 
Junior  Class  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  at  Prince- 
ton. Among  the  other  members  of  that  class  were 
the  Hon.  George  Chambers,  of  Chambersburg,  Pa,,  and 
the  Hon.  Jos.  R.  Ingersoll,  late  Minister  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  Mr.  Ingersoll  has 
been  kind  enough  to  furnish  the  author  with  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  reminiscences  of  his  early  friend 
and  classmate. 

"Nassau  Hall,  the  now  venerable  College  of  New 
Jersey,  has  been  naturally  regarded  as  the  becoming 
nursery  of  the  sons  of  that  patriotic  state.  Many  of 
them  have  received  the  crowning  portion  of  their  ed- 
ucation there,  and  not  a  few  of  them  have  carried 
away  with  them  high  and  distinguished  honors, 

'"  The  class  of  1804  gave  to  the  country  more  than 
one  of  these,  who  fulfilled  their  early  promise  by  be- 
coming legislators,  orators,  and  statesmen  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  nation.  It  was  usual  for  the  natives  of 
New  Jersey  to  enter  college  in  the  Junior  year.  They 
thus  enjoyed  advantages  from  comparatively  mature 
cultivation  in  good  preliminary  schools;  and  they 
escaped  some  of  the  dangers  incident  to  the  college 
career  of  extreme  youth,  when  surrounded  by  exam- 
ples and  temptations  more  attractive  than  meritori- 
ous, from  different  and  distant  places. 

"  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  and  others  came  at  the 
same  time,  prepared  for  the  opening  of  the  Junior  class. 
He  soon  took  a  station  of  high  merit,  and  he  maintain- 

B2 


34  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

ed  his  position  to  the  close  of  his  allotted  time.  In  his 
studies  he  was  faithfully  diligent,  and  for  his  recitations 
he  was  always  prepared.  It  was  observed  of  him  by 
one  of  his  classmates  that  he  never  made  a  mistake  in 
them.  With  excellent  abilities,  great  industry,  suit- 
able ambition,  and  never-failing  attention,  it  could 
scarcely  be  otherwise.  The  studies  were  susceptible 
of  being  mastered,  and  he  took  care  to  conquer  them. 

"  In  the  observance  of  college  duty  his  conduct  was 
exemplary.  He  appeared  to  have  no  tendency  to 
neglect,  and  no  inclination  or  capacity  for  mischief. 
He  met  the  routine  of  exercises  with  uniform  punctu- 
ality, and  appeared  to  have  no  wish  except  within  the 
college  rules.  As  a  speaker,  he  gave  full  indication 
of  the  excellence  which  was  manifested  in  a  brilliant 
senatorial  life.  When  a  '  Senior,'  he  represented  the 
Cliosophic  Society  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July, 
in  the  exercises  performed  only  by  two  persons,  one 
being  from  each  society.  His  discourse  was  patriotic 
in  its  theme.  The  order  of  speaking  was  determined 
by  lot,  and  he  chose  to  speak  last.  The  classmate 
who  preceded  him  selected  a  literary  subject,  and  re- 
ferred to  his  associate  by  saying  to  the  audience  that 
the  wide  and  extended  interests  of  the  country  he  left 
on  the  occasion  to  his  friend  and  brother,  whose  merits 
with  them  he  would  not  envy,  but  would  endeavor  to 
emulate. 

"The  conduct  and  conversation  of  our  eminent  fel- 
low-citizen were  not  only  free  from  reproach,  but  ami- 
able and  delicate.  Although  a  precisely  devotional 
character  may  not  have  been  observed  at  this  early 
day,  yet  seeds  of  religious  habit  and  exercise  must 


HIS  YOUTH  AND  EDUCATION.  335 

have  been  planted  which  were  afterward,  in  due  sea- 
son, developed  into  the  ripe  exhibition  of  a  pious  life. 

"  His  merits  and  station  in  the  class,  at  the  final  ex- 
amination for  degrees,  were  fully  recognized  by  the 
proper  authorities.  In  the  distribution  of  honors 
among  forty-two  graduates,  the  valedictory  oration 
was  assigned  to  him.  It  was  a  testimonial  of  uniform 
and  exemplary  past  good  conduct,  a  reward  for  indus- 
try and  excellence  in  his  various  studies,  and  a  merit- 
ed compliment  to  his  talents  as  a  speaker.  This  is  al- 
ways considered  a  touching  farewell  to  companions, 
many  of  whom  become  separated  for  time  and  eterni- 
ty, and  was  rendered  peculiarly  affecting  in  this  in- 
stance. Mr.  Frelinghuysen  had  recently  lost  his  father, 
who  had  long  been  eminent  in  public,  and  highly  es- 
teemed in  private  life.  The  parting  address  of  the  son 
alluded,  with  great  tenderness  and  delicacy  of  feeling, 
to  this  event,  and  it  did  not  fail  to  convey  a  motive 
for  earnest  sympathy  in  the  speaker's  distress  and  the 
general  sorrow. 

"  The  valedictory,  while  it  was  a  proof  of  past  and 
existing  merit,  was  a  pledge  for  the  future  course  of 
the  youthful  orator  which  has  been  nobly  redeemed. 
His  early  professional  efforts  confirmed  the  promise 
of  distinguished  usefulness  and  stirring  abilities.  The 
entire  development  before  the  country  and  before  the 
world  has  not  only  conferred  lasting  fame  upon  the 
individual,  but  has  contributed  eminently  to  verify  the 
position  long  since  taken,  that  the  alma  mater  with 
which  he  was  honorably  identified  in  youth  was  lux 
et  gloria  Novae  CcBsarioe. 

"Philadelphia,  May  28, 1862." 


3A  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

It  may  add  to  the  interest  of  tlie  foregoing  commu- 
nication to  state  a  fact  whicli  tlie  modesty  of  its  dis- 
tinguished author  induced  him  to  withhold,  but  which 
the  Eev.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  has  preserved,  viz.,  that  Mr. 
IngersoU  and  Mr.  Frehnghuysen  were  competitors  for 
academic  distinction,  and  were  pronounced  by  the 
Faculty  to  be  equal,  so  that  the  first  honor  of  the  class 
was  divided  between  them.  Mr.  Ingersoll  pronounced 
the  Latin  salutatory  at  the  commencement.  A  letter 
to  the  author  from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Chambers  confirms 
all  the  statements  of  Mr.  Ingersoll,  speaks  of  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  as  a  model  student^  and  adds  the  farther 
fact,  which  will  be  interesting  to  some  readers,  that  the 
thoroughness  of  his  academic  preparation  at  Basking 
Eidge  contributed  largely  to  the  high  stand  he  took 
in  his  class  at  college. 

After  his  graduation  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  returned  to 
the  homestead  at  Millstone,  which  was  then  occupied 
by  his  brother  John,  who  had  removed  his  residence 
thither  from  the  Earitan,  in  order,  as  the  oldest  son,  to 
take  charge  of  his  father's  household.  In  his  office 
Theodore  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  Of  John 
Frelinghuysen's  character  and  course,  some  notice  will 
be  found  in  the  Appendix.  It  is  enough  to  say  here 
that  his  influence  upon  his  younger  brothers  was  of 
the  happiest  kind  in  every  respect.  Nor  were  they 
slow  to  acknowledge  it.  Theodore,  writing  to  his 
brother's  widow  immediately  after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  in  April,  1833,  said  :'"To  my  own  heart  this 
is  a  sore  bereavement.  It  has  taken  my  only  brother, 
who  watched  over  my  youth,  and  was  as  a  father  to 
counsel  and  comfort  me;  one  whose  kindness  never 


HIS  YOUTH  AND   EDUCATION.  37 

remitted,  and  who  delighted  to  aid  me,  and  contribute 
in  all  circumstances  to  my  happiness." 

Of  Mr.  Freliughuysen's  character  and  course  at  this 
period  of  his  life,  the  author  has  had  the  pleasure  of 
receiving  some  authentic  statements  from  the  Eev. 
Isaac  N.  Wyckoff,  D.D.,  of  Albany,  IST.  Y.,  some  of 
which  are  here  given.  Dr.  Wyckoff  says :  "  He  had  al- 
ready graduated  at  Princeton  when  my  fortunate  ac- 
quaintance with  him  commenced.  But  this  I  well  re- 
member, that  when  a  student  of  law  in  his  brother's 
office,  he  was  much  engaged  in  promoting  the  mental 
advancement  of  the  young  men  in  his  neighborhood. 
Eor  this  purpose  he  originated  a  debating  society,  and 
invited  the  young  men  several  miles  around  to  attend. 
lie  encouraged  their  efforts  in  composition  and  orato- 
ry, and  by  his  unaffected  simplicity  of  manners  and 
condescending  kindness  endeared  himself  to  every 
member  of  the  association.  I  might  mention  an  anec- 
dote illustrating  the  attachment  of  the  young  men  to 
him.  On  occasion  of  some  earnest  discussion  in  the 
neighboring  hotel,  a  lively  fellow  took  exception  to 
some  statement  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  made,  and  threat- 
ened personal  chastisement,  A  stout  young  farmer 
immediately  interposed,  and  shouted,  'Touch  him  if 
you  dare ;'  and  the  belligerent  youth,  finding  that  he 
must  encounter,  not  a  fair-handed  collegian,  but  a 
brawny  yeoman,  slunk  away  and  threatened  no  more. 

"You  will  pardon  me  if  I  am  egotistical  in  this 
communication.  To  myself,  more  than  any  one  else, 
he  showed  great  kindness.  Having  permitted  me, 
though  only  a  boy  of  fourteen  summers,  to  enter  the 
debating  society,  and  observed  my  desire  of  improve- 


88  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEIT. 

ment,  he  invited  me  to  his  office,  furnished  me  with 
books,  directed  my  reading,  and  ultimately  became  my 
classical  teacher,  and  devoted  his  daily  attention  to  me 
till  I  was  nearly  ready  to  enter  the  Junior  class,  when 
his  brother  Frederick — jpar  nohile  frairum — took  up 
the  benevolent  task  till  I  entered  college.  The  close 
of  this  disinterested  kindness  ought  to  be  mentioned. 
When  my  father  requested  to  know  how  he  might  re- 
ward Mr.  F,  for  his  care  and  tuition,  he  entirely  refused 
compensation.  But  my  father  begged  that  he  would 
accept  some  token  of  respectful  acknowledgment  for 
his  laborious  kindness.  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  if  I  must 
take  something,  please  send  me  a  box  of  Spanish  ci- 
gars;' which  was  accordingly  done.  Although  I  do 
not  use  cigars  myself,  no  one  will  expect  me  to  join  in 
King  James's  Counterblast  against  Tobacco,  for  its 
fragrant  smoke  was  the  visible  price  of  my  academic 
education.  I  have  nothing  farther  to  add  but  the  tes- 
timony, which  is  abundant  in  our  old  neighborhood  of 
Millstone,  that  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  a  youth  of  noble 
heart  and  benevolent  impulses.  None  knew  him  that 
did  not  love  him ;  none  spoke  of  him  but  to  praise 
him.  For  myself,  my  heart  kindles  with  warmth 
when  I  think  of  him.  I  am  inclined  to  be  extrava- 
gant when  I  speak  of  him.  He  was  my  early  patron, 
my  unwearied  benefactor,  my  friend  till  death.  I  in- 
voke a  thousand  blessings  upon  all  who  were  dear  to 
him,  and  who  belong  to  his  lineage  and  partake  in  his 
spirit." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  continued  for  somewhat  more 
than  a  year  in  his  brother's  office  at  Millstone,  pursu- 
ing his  legal  studies,  and  employing  his  leisure  in  the 


HIS  YOUTH  AND  EDUCATION'.  39 

useful  and  praisewortliy  manner  set  fortli  by  Dr. 
Wyckoff.  He  then,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  brother, 
repaired  to  Princeton,  and  entered  his  name  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  Hon.  Eichard  Stockton,  who  had  at  dif- 
ferent times  represented  New  Jersey  in  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Eepresentatives  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  was  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  of  the  bar  in  his  native  state.  Under 
this  distinguished  man  he  prosecuted  his  legal  studies 
with  great  assiduity  until  November,  1808,  when  he 
was  admitted  to  practice,  being  then  twenty-one  years 
of  age. 


40  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FROFESSIONAL  CAREER  AT  THE   BAR. 
1808—1838. 

Settlement  at  Newark. — Marriage. — Studious  Habits. — First  Strik- 
ing Success. — Patriotic  Exertions  in  1812. — Same  in  1861. — At- 
torney General  of  the  State. — Legal  Characteristics. — Cases. — The 
Quaker  Case. — Proprietary  Case. — Leaving  the  Bar. 

The  place  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  selected  to  es- 
tablish himself  in  life  was  Newark,  at  that  time  a  vil- 
lage which  contained  about  four  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  gave  little  promise  of  the  growth  of  business 
which  has  converted  it  into  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous inland  cities  in  the  whole  country.  One  of  the 
attractions  which  brought  him  to  Newark,  doubtless, 
was  the  fact  that  it  was  the  residence  of  the  lady  whom 
he  married  the  next  year  aft^r  his  removal  there. 
This  was  Charlotte  Mercer,  the  daughter  of  Archibald 
Mercer,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  remarkable  enterprise 
and  business  tact.  Miss  Mercer  was  a  lady  of  great 
intelligence,  amiable  disposition,  and  numerous  graces 
of  person  and  manner;  and  the  union  formed  with 
her  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  continued  in  unbroken  af- 
fection for  more  than  forty  years,  when  she  was  re- 
moved by  death  to  a  heavenly  home.  Providence 
having  denied  them  children,  they  were  inseparable 
companions  at  home  and  abroad.  Her  cheerful  spirits 
and  buoyant  temperament  were  a  signal  blessing  to 
her  husband,  whose  fatigues  and  vexations  she  was 


AT  THE    BAR.  41 

always  able  to  soothe,  while  lier  winning  courtesy 
gave  an  additional  charm  to  the  abundant  and  cordial 
hospitalities  of  his  house  and  table. 

The  same  habits  of  studiousness,  sobriety,  and  at- 
tention which  had  marked  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  pre- 
vious course,  still  attended  him  while  awaiting  the 
call  of  clients.  He  revised  and  perfected  his  legal 
studies.  He  was  diligent  in  his  attendance  upon  the 
courts.  He  gave  considerable  time  to  the  pursuits  of 
literature,  especially  to  those  histories  which  lay  open 
the  fountains  of  law.  His  evenings  were  in  general 
spent  in  the  society  of  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen,  to  whom 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  aloud  some  favorite 
English  classic.  None  of  his  faculties  were  allowed 
to  rust  through  disuse,  but,  while  in  comparative  ob- 
scurity, he  labored  as  if  with  some  prophetic  foresight 
of  the  demands  he  would  be  called  to  meet  in  coming 
years.  When,  therefore,  the  cares  of  a  full  practice 
came  rushing  upon  him,  he  was  not  unprepared. 

The  commencement  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  profes- 
sional life  and  reputation  are  well  described  in  a  pam- 
phlet published  in  1844,  understood  to  be  from  the 
pen  of  Courtlandt  Parker,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  mem- 
ber of  the  New  Jersey  bar,  who  had  studied  in  Mr, 
Frelinghuysen's  office,  and  who  was  both  familiar  with 
his  character  and  well  able  to  describe  it.  "Eetiring 
and  studious  in  his  habits,  unassuming,  modest,  and 
finding  the  bar  already  occupied  by  men  of  ability 
and  standing,  he  was  for  two  or  three  years  very  little 
known,  and  contented  himself  with  silently  laying  the 
foundation  of  his  subsequently  brilliant  career.  The 
bar  of  Essex  County  was  then  very  distinguished. 


42  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Among  the  seniors  of  tlie  profession  were  Aaron  Og- 
den,*  Matthias  Williamson,  Isaac  H.  Williamson,* 
Wm,  S.  Pennington,*  Elias  Van  Arsdale,  Jos.  C.  Horn- 
blower,f  Wm.  Halsey,  and  Wm.  Chetwood,:}:  and  other 
men  of  great  distinction  in  the  state,  besides  Eichard 
Stockton,:}:  George  Wood,  and  others  of  great  ability 
from  other  counties.  Such  were  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
competitors,  and  for  some  time  he  remained  little 
known ;  but  about  the  year  1812  his  abilities  were 
called  into  public  notice,  and  he  rushed  at  once  into 
an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice. 

"  His  professional  success  took  its  rise  from  his  able 
conduct  of  an  important  cause  which  occurred  about 
the  year  above  named.  It  was  a  case  of  murder,  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed  by  a  colored  man. 
The  killing  was  admitted,  but  it  was  insisted  by  the 
defendant  that  he  acted  in  self-defense.  The  prison- 
er was  friendless  and  penniless,  and  the  court,  being 
obliged  to  assign  him  counsel,  appointed  as  such  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  together  with  a  senior  member  of  the 
bar,  the  present  Chief  Justice  Hornblower.  In  course 
of  time  the  cause  was  tried,  and  the  junior  counsel 
was  the  first  to  present  it  to  the  jury ;  and  so  power- 
ful was  his  appeal,  that  the  jury,  though  the  case  is 
said  to  have  been  clearly  one  of  manslaughter  at  least, 
immediately  acquitted  the  prisoner.  He  dwelt  with 
great  pathos  upon  the  situation  of  the  defendant  as 
one  calling  for  the  sympathies  of  the  court  and  jury. 
Every  thing  was  combined  to  darken  his  prospects: 
poverty,  friendlessness,  insignificance  in  public  estima- 

*  Gnvcrnors  and  Chancellors.  t  Chief  Justice. 

J  .Members  of  Congress. 


AT  THE  BAR.  43 

tion  on  account  of  his  color,  and  his  being  a  stranger 
and  without  relatives,  all  contributed  to  swell  the  tide 
against  him.  The  solemnity  of  his  situation  excited 
a  morbid  interest  in  the  cause,  but  none  for  him.  The 
lonely  condemned  cell,  the  scaffold  and  executioner, 
the  fatal  rope,  and  the  awful  moment  of  death,  would 
rouse  curiosity,  but  not  sympathy :  unthought  of,  un- 
regretted,  would  his  spirit,  if  their  verdict  was  ad- 
verse, rise  from  the  horrid  scaffold  to  the  bar  of  judg- 
ment. Ideas  something  like  these,  clothed  in  the  pur- 
est diction,  animated  by  his  vivid  imagination,  and 
delivered  with  surpassing  eloquence,  completely  over- 
whelmed court,  jury,  and  auditors;  the  judge  (the 
Hon.  Saml.  L.  Southard),. though  by  no  means  a  man 
easily  affected,  was  overcome  by  his  feelings;  and 
thus  having  enlisted  popular  sympathy  for  the  forlorn 
state  of  his  client,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  went  on  to  argue 
the  facts  in  so  masterly  a  manner  as  quite  to  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  his  colleague's  address,  and  tri- 
umphantly acquit  his  client.  A  gentleman  of  another 
profession,  present  at  the  time,  afterward  said,  in  ref- 
erence to  it,  '  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  made 
upon  me  by  the  address  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  on  that 
occasion.  Though  I  was  then  but  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  of  age,  it  has  never  left  me,  and  ever  since  I  have 
regarded  him  with  intense  interest  from  the  feelings 
which  his  pathetic  eloquence  excited.'  " 

The  same  writer  from  whom  we  have  just  quoted 
proceeds  to  describe  thus  the  elements  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's  professional  ability  and  the  grounds  of  his 
reputation :  "  The  eloquence  by  which  his  forensic  ef- 
forts were  distinguished ;  his  voice  clear,  mellow,  and 


44  LIFE   OF   FEELINGHUYSEN. 

full ;  his  manly  appearance,  brilliant  imagination,  ve- 
hement declamation,  and  fine  flow  of  language,  togeth- 
er with  his  acute  knowledge  of  human  nature,  accu- 
rate legal  acquirements,  strong  reasoning  powers,  and 
stern  adherence  to  right,  rendered  him  the  most  pop- 
ular advocate  at  the  bar  of  Eastern  New  Jersey." 

In  the  outset  of  his  career  he  exhibited  the  active 
love  of  country  which  he  inherited  from  his  father, 
and  which  characterized  all  his  subsequent  career.  In 
the  war  of  1812  a  draft  of  every  seventh  man  was 
made  upon  the  citizens  of  Essex  County  for  the  gov- 
ernment service.  He  escaped  the  lot,  but,  with  a  num- 
ber of  others  who  were  in  the  same  situation,  formed 
a  volunteer  company  of  riflemen,  of  which  he  took 
the  command.  Among  the  members  of  the  company 
was  the  Eev.  S.  H.  Cox,  D.D.,  who  acted  as  the  cap- 
tain's orderly,  and  who  relates  with  great  vivacity  the 
thoroughness  of  the  drill,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  rank 
and  file,  and  the  fine  appearance  they  presented  when 
reviewed  by  the  governor  of  the  state  on  the  nation- 
al anniversary.  They  were  never  called  into  active 
service,  but  they  lacked  only  the  occasion,  not  the  will. 
When  the  city  of  New  York  was  supposed  to  be  in 
danger  from  its  defenseless  situation,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  was  among  the  most  active  in  inducing  the  citi- 
zens of  Newark  to  come  to  its  aid  with  upward  of 
nine  hundred  able-bodied  men,  who,  with  spade  and 
pickaxe,  rendered  most  efficient  service  in  throwing 
up  intrenchments  on  Brooklyn  Heights  and  South 
Brooklyn.  Fifty  years  afterward,  when  the  country 
was  threatened  with  the  far  greater  danger  of  an  in- 
ternal foe,  the  voice  of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  rang 


AT  THE   BAR,  45 

out  in  clarion  tones,  whicli  showed  that  age  had  not 
chilled  the  patriotic  fires  of  youth,  nor  the  peaceful 
pursuits  of  education  and  literature  deadened  his  sen- 
sibilities to  the  honor  of  his  country  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  her  government.  With  his  own  hand  he 
raised  the  national  banner  on  the  College  grounds, 
and  accompanied  the  act  with  a  speech,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  said :  "  Our  forefathers  felt  the  defects 
springing  from  the  independence  of  single  states,  and 
saw  that  there  could  be  neither  glory  nor  safety  in 
thirteen  little  independent  factions.  Hence  the  fram- 
ers  of  the  Constitution  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  wise  and  permanent  bond  of  union.  The 
Union  formed  then  is  the  Union  of  to-day ;  and  under 
it  our  prosperity  has  been  so  great  that  we  are  all 
willing  to  sacrifice  the  last  drop  of  our  blood  to  see  it 
maintained  against  traitors.  The  forbearance  of  the 
ISTorth  was  simply  the  calmness  of  conscious  strength. 
The  first  cannon-shot,  however,  against  Sumter  struck 
the  great  heart  of  the  American  people,  and  that 
heart  will  never  cease  beating  until  this  wrong  is 
avenged.  Despising  the  remedies  offered  by  the  Con- 
stitution itself  for  redressing  their  supposed  grievan- 
ces, they,  just  as  wicked  men  always  do,  have  gathered 
their  forces,  have  stolen  forts  and  arsenals,  have  plun- 
dered our  public  property,  have  murdered  innocent 
citizens,  and  are  now  endeavoring  to  coil  among  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  a  serpent  whose  fangs  shall  strike 
out  the  emblems  of  seven  states  from  its  glorious  folds. 
If  a  foreign  foe  had  done  this,  the  nation  would  have 
risen  up  as  one  man  to  hurl  down  the  aggressor. 
How  much  worse  is  it  when  the  foe  came  from  with- 


46  LIFE   OF  FRELENGHUYSEN. 

in  our  own  bosom !  In  fact,  a  more  monstrous  crime 
has  not  been  perpetrated  since  the  crucifixion  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior,  "We  must  fight :  there  is  no  alter- 
native. Eebelhon  must  be  crushed,  and  then  we  shall 
once  more  become  a  happy  and  united  people." 

Nor  were  these  stirring  words  the  mere  efferves- 
cence of  a  temporary  excitement,  but  the  expression 
of  a  deep  and  settled  conviction,  founded  upon  Mr, 
Frelinghuysen's  origin,  training,  studies,  and  experi- 
ence. And  he  never  wavered.  Even  when  lying 
upon  the  bed  from  which  he  knew  that  he  was  never 
to  arise,  and  in  full  view  of  the  solemn  realities  of  the 
life  to  come,  his  interest  in  the  national  cause  was  un- 
abated, and  tidings  of  any  success  of  the  Union  forces 
would  call  forth  a  prompt  and  hearty  expression  of 
joy  and  gratitude.  Like  his  father  before  him,  he  was 
a  patriot  to  the  last,  unconditionally  and  without  res- 
ervation. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  practice,  after  1812,  became  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative.  He  attended  the  courts  in  all 
the  northern  counties  of  New  Jersey,  every  where 
acquiring  a  like  reputation  with  that  he  had  obtain- 
ed at  home.  His  legal  and  personal  character  dai- 
ly raised  him  in  public  estimation,  until,  in  1817,  he 
was  appointed  attorney  general  of  the  state — an  of- 
fice which,  at  that  time,  was  one  of  immense  care  and 
responsibility.  The  holder  of  it  was  not  only  the 
legal  adviser  of  the  state,  but  in  person  or  by  depu- 
ty super\ased  the  administration  of  the  criminal  stat- 
utes throughout  the  commonwealth.  There  were 
in  this  appointment  some  circumstances  exceedingly 
complimentary  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.    The  legislative 


AT. THE   BAR.  47 

majority  by  wliom  it  was  conferred  were  opposed  to 
him  in  politics,  and  had  able  and  prominent  men  of 
their  own  party  before  them  for  election.  He  was 
chosen,  too,  as  indeed  was  the  case  with  all  the  public 
honors  and  offices  conferred  upon  him  through  life, 
without  any  solicitation  on  his  part,  and  in  the  pres- 
ent instance  without  any  expectation,  as  at  the  time 
he  was  engaged  in  his  practice  in  a  remote  part  of  the 
state.  He  was  afterward  twice  reappointed  as  his 
term  of  office  expired ;  and  when  he  resigned,  did  so 
in  consequence  of  being  elected,  in  1829,  a  senator  of 
the  United  States  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

Xo  man  ever  filled  the  office  of  attorney  general 
more  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people  than  he.  It  was 
the  field  for  the  proper  display  of  the  lofty  integrity, 
private  and  professional,  which  was  always  his  pecul- 
iar distinction.  Guilt,  whenever  it  appeared,  he  pros- 
ecuted with  every  energy  he  could  command,  while 
in  his  dealings  with  the  depraved  he  ever  pursued  so 
fair  and  just  a  course  that  even  they  who  suffered 
from  his  efforts  dared  not  blame  them.  He  never 
sank  the  attorney  general  in  the  advocate  of  a  side. 
Eepresenting  the  majesty  of  the  state,  his  endeavor 
was  to  ferret  out  the  guilty  and  discover  truth,  not  to 
gain  his  cause  or  to  extend  his  fame.  While  he  oc- 
cupied this  post,  he  was,  in  1820,  elected  by  the  Legis- 
lature to  a  seat  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  state,  a  position  usually  deemed  a  fitting  goal 
for  the  honorable  ambition  of  a  ISTew  Jersey  lawyer. 
This,  however,  he  declined,  preferring  to  continue  in 
the  more  active  branch  of  the  profession. 

The  reputation  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  attracted  many 


48  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

young  men  to  his  office  as  students  of  the  law,  and  pa- 
rents were  always  glad  to  place  their  sons  under  such 
a  wholesome  influence.  He  dealt  faithfully  and  kind- 
ly with  them  all,  and  never  failed  to  win  their  affec- 
tionate admiration  and  regard.  They  looked  up  to 
him.  as  a  friend  and  father,  and  throughout  life  cher- 
ished for  him  the  highest  esteem.  From  one  of  these, 
now  eminent  at  the  bar,  the  author  has  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  receiving  an  authentic  statement  respecting 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  professional  character  and  course, 
which  is  here  reproduced  almost  in  the  writer's  own 
words. 

His  moral  influence  upon  his  associates  at  the  bar 
was  very  great  and  very  salutary.  No  one  ever 
questioned  the  sincerity  of  his  religious  professions. 
Hence  his  pure  life  was  a  constant  power,  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged by  all.  Probably  no  bar  in  this  country 
ever  presented  a  more  uniform  exhibition  of  moral 
integrity,  high  and  honorable  principle,  and  gentle- 
manly bearing  than  that  of  New  Jersey  during  the 
first  third  of  this  century.  This  must  have  been  due 
to  some  eminent  examples  in  the  profession,  as  well 
of  an  earlier  as  of  a  later  day ;  and  no  individual  ex- 
ample exerted  a  more  benign  and  powerful  influence 
than  that  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  during  the  whole  of 
his  career.  How  many  lines  of  influence  go  out,  like 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  in  every  direction,  from  a  pure 
and  lofty  character ! 

The  intellectual  characteristics  of  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen as  a  lawyer  partook  of  his  general  nature.  His 
mind  was  strikingly  rapid,  correct,  and  comprehen- 
sive.    His  judgments  seemed  almost  intuitive.     He 


AT  THE  BAE.  49 

seized  at  once  the  strong  ^Doints  of  a  cause,  never  con- 
fused or  embarrassed  by  immaterial  facts  or  points, 
but  always  coming  directly  to  that  which  was  essen- 
tial and  decisive.  An  illustration  of  his  correct  and 
rapid  judgment  may  be  gained  from  the  testimony 
of  one  who  knew  him  intimately  for  many  years. 
"  Whenever  I  had  a  case  of  difiiculty  or  perplexity,  I 
was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  my  friend  A.,  my  senior 
at  the  bar,  for  advice.  He  had  a  very  fertile  and  in- 
genious mind,  and  would  soon  suggest  half  a  dozen 
explanations  or  expedients  to  obviate  the  difiiculty, 
but  would  not  decide  positively  on  any  one  of  them. 
I  would  then  go  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  He  at  once 
would  tell  me  which  of  them  all  was  the  true  solu- 
tion, and  I  never  knew  him  to  make  a  mistake." 

This  sagacity  in  discriminating  the  essential  from 
the  non-essential  gave  him  a  complete  mastery  over 
forms  and  technicalities.  He  rose  above  them,  and  by 
the  simplicity  and  directness  of  his  legal  diction,  in 
documents  as  well  as  in  discussions,  he  often  evinced 
his  power  of  making  forms  instead  of  being  made  by 
them.  On  one  occasion,  when  dining  with  his  profes- 
sional associates  at  the  hotel  of  a  country  town,  while 
he  was  attorney  general,  a  messenger  from  the  grand 
jury  came  to  him  for  the  form  of  an  indictment  in 
some  case  which  they  had  agreed  to  present.  He  im- 
mediately called  for  pen  and  ink,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments wrote  out  an  indictment  on  the  crown  of  his  hat, 
dispatched  it  to  the  jury-room,  and  resumed  his  din- 
ner. "  I  think,"  said  one  of  his  legal  brethren  pres- 
ent, "  that  you  are  now  entitled  to  be  called  a  crown 
lawyer,  if  never  before."     But  all  knew  too  well  his 

0 


50  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

accuracy,  and  his  ability  to  defend  his  own  work,  to 
assail  it  with  any  technical  objections  afterward. 

From  the  time  when  he  took  his  first  successful  po- 
sition at  the  bar  of  New  Jersey  in  1812,  until  he  went 
to  New  York  in  1838,  he  was  engaged  in  almost  every 
important  cause  which  arose  in  the  state.  During  this 
protracted  period  he  acted  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  law  in  establishing  legal  principles  and  settling 
precedents  which,  as  they  have  stood  in  the  past,  will 
continue  to  stand  for  years  to  come.  Yet  very  few 
traces  of  his  forensic  ability  have  been  preserved  in  a 
permanent  form.  His  speeches  were  never  written 
out  in  full,  and  the  movement  of  his  eloquence  was  so 
rapid,  so  brilliant,  so  like  a  whirlwind  in  its  sweep, 
that  no  ordinary  reporter  could  catch  the  winged 
words  as  they  flew  from  his  gifted,  almost  inspired 
lips.  The  impression  he  produced  was  for  the  time 
being  complete  and  overpowering.  His  speech  in  an 
important  slander  case.  Hall  vs.  Orant,  tried  in  New- 
ark in  1821,  was  characterized  by  all  the  prominent 
peculiarities  of  his  eloquence,  and  long  afterward  was 
referred  to  with  admiration  by  those  who  heard  it; 
yet  the  report  which  has  been  preserved  of  it  gives  to 
those  who  never  knew  the  man  no  conception  what- 
ever of  his  extraordinary  power. 

The  best  report  extant  of  any  of  his  forensic  efforts 
is  that  of  the  argument  made  by  him  in  1883  in  what 
is  commonly  known  as  the  great  Quaker  case.  This 
cause  convulsed  the  whole  state  with  excitement,  and 
even  affected  its  political  character  in  after  years.  It 
arose  from  a  dispute  between  two  parties  into  which 
the  society  of  Friends  had  become  divided,  the  Ortho- 


AT  THE   BAIL  51 

dox  and  the  Hicksites,  respecting  tlie  control  of  the 
public  property  of  the  body.  The  result  of  the  suit 
was  to  establish  the  principle  for  which  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  and  his  associate  counsel  contended,  viz.,  that 
when  a  religious  society  is  rent  in  twain,  and  the  par- 
ties separate  on  account  of  differences  of  sentiment, 
that  portion  which  adheres  to  the  original  principles 
of  the  society  is  entitled  to  the  funds  raised  for  the  pro- 
motion of  its  religious  and  benevolent  objects.  The 
same  doctrine  has  been  held  in  other  controversies  of 
a  similar  character  in  this  country  and  in  Britain. 
This  case  was  one  exactly  fitted  for  the  display  of  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  peculiar  talents.  Apart  from  the  im- 
mense pecuniary  interests  at  stake,  it  brought  up  great 
principles  for  investigation,  and  involved  a  discussion 
of  the  social  value  and  relations  of  cardinal  religious 
doctrines.  The  dry  routine  of  technical  law  gave 
place  to  the  consideration  of  those  views  which  gov- 
ern the  course  of  the  statesman  and  the  philanthropist. 
The  argument  in  this  celebrated  case  began  in  the 
Court  of  Appeals  at  Trenton  on  the  7th  of  July,  and 
continued  for  about  a  month,  the  mere  reading  of  the 
evidence  consuming  nine  days.  The  counsel  for  the 
Hicksites  were  the  Hon.  Garret  D.  Wall  and  Samuel 
L.  Southard ;  for  the  Orthodox,  George  Wood  and  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen.  The  case  having  been  decided  by  the 
chancellor  in  favor  of  the  Orthodox,  the  Hicksites  had 
appealed,  and  consequently  their  counsel  had  the  open- 
ing and  reply.  General  Wall  occupied  four  days  in 
the  discussion,  Mr.  Wood  two  and  a  half,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen three,  and  Mr.  Southard  four  and  a  half.  At 
the  close  of  the  argument  on  the  15th  of  August,  the 


52  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

court  immediately  afl&rmed  the  cliancellor's  decision 
by  a  vote  of  seven  to  four.  The  great  length  of  time 
consumed  in  the  case  was  owing  chiefly  to  the  fact 
that  the  Society  of  Friends  had  no  formal  written  creed 
or  Confession  of  Faith ;  and  hence  their  fundamental 
doctrines  had  to  be  elicited  by  a  careful  reference  to 
the  writings  of  the  founders  of  the  society,  Penn,  Bar- 
clay, Fox,  and  others,  and  to  the  prevailing  tenor  of 
its  teaching  and  discipline  during  the  intervening  pe- 
riod of  a  century  and  a  half.  This  wide  range  of  in- 
vestigation required  much  recondite  study,  and  the  ex- 
ercise of  sharp  discrimination  and  solid  judgment  in 
the  handling  of  the  materials.  Perhaps  the  salient 
excellencies  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  mind  were  never 
more  happily  exhibited  than  in  his  masterly  analysis 
of  the  evidence  and  the  authorities  relied  upon  in  this 
case. 

The  opening  counsel,  apprehensive,  probably,  that 
his  cause  could  not  be  supported  on  sound  legal  prin- 
ciples, insinuated  that  the  court,  being  a  court  of  last 
resort,  and  forming  (as  it  did  at  that  time)  one  branch 
of  the  Legislature,  like  the  British  House  of  Lords, 
were  not  bound  by  the  rigid  rules  of  established  law, 
but  might  draw  on  their  legislative  authority,  and  de- 
cide according  to  their  own  notions  of  justice.  It  was 
a  shrewd  temptation  to  the  judges  to  liberate  them- 
selves from  the  trammels  of  law,  and  seek  to  carve 
out  some  popular  compromise  to  suit  the  prejudices 
of  the  hour.  Mr.  Frelirighuysen  met  the  suggestion 
with  a  severe  rebuke.  "  Your  honors,"  said  he,  "  have 
a  high  and  sacred  trust  to  administer.  This  forum  is 
the  last  resort  of  truth.     She  casts  her  hopes  on  your 


AT  THE   BAE.  53 

thresliold.  I  have  no  doubt  tliat  you  will  weigli  well 
her  claims.  But  even  if  trutli  can  not  stand  without 
invading  the  functions  of  legislative  authority,  let  her 
fall.  Better  that  she  should  fall  than  that  the  great 
pillars  of  law  and  order  should  be  overthrown.  This 
doctrine,  drawn  from  a  volume  of  ecclesiastical  re- 
ports, is  a  monstrous  perversion  of  British  law.  It 
never  furnished  a  pebble  to  the  system  which  the 
American  jurist  delights  to  study.  Why  was  it  pick- 
ed up  here?  Why  was  it  brought  forward  at  the 
opening  of  this  case?  What  is  it?  It  means  that 
when  the  House  of  Lords  find  a  defect  of  judicial  pow- 
er, they  may  draw  upon  their  legislative  department, 
and  when  there  is  no  law,  make  a  law  to  suit  the  case. 
*  *  *  *  It  is  a  principle  false  in  all  its  branches,  as 
applied  to  the  House  of  Lords  sitting  as  a  court  of 
law  or  eq^uity.  That  house  has  no  legislative  author- 
ity but  in  connection  with  the  House  of  Commons 
and  the  king.  Such  a  notion  would  destroy  all  cer- 
tainty and  security  in  our  systems  of  jurisprudence, 
and  subvert  the  very  foundations  of  property  and 
right." 

The  first  part  of  his  argument  was  directed  to  show 
that  the  Society  of  Friends  had  a  real,  substantive  sys- 
tem of  belief.  They  had,  as  has  been  stated,  no  for- 
mal confession  or  standard  of  faith.  They  generally 
expressed  their  views  in  the  language  of  Scripture ; 
but  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  contended  that,  in  the  selec- 
tion, and  combination,  and  application  of  these  pas- 
sages from  the  Bible,  it  clearly  appeared  what  their 
distinctive  principles  and  doctrines  were.  The  other 
side  contended  that  they  also  believed  in  the  Bible, 


54  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

and  therefore  held  the  views  expressed  in  its  lan- 
guage.   To  this  he  thus  replied :  "  To  say  you  believe 
in  the  Bible  leaves  the  question  unresolved.    All  but 
downright  infidels  say  this.     What  does  the  Bible 
teach,  what  does  it  enforce,  and  what  does  it  prohibit  ? 
These  are  the  material  distinguishing  inquiries.   There 
is  not  a  Unitarian  church  in  the  country  in  which 
you  will  not  find  the  Bible  on  the  desk,  in  which  they 
do  not  read  from  its  pages,  in  which  they  do  not  speak 
of  G-od  and  of  virtue  with  reverence  and  admiration ; 
yet,  when  questioned  as  to  what  they  believe,  you  find 
that  they  believe  in  nothing  essential  to  Christianity. 
When  they  reject  the  great  doctrines  of  the  divinity 
of  the  Savior,  the  atonement,  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures,  what  remains  to  be  received  or  rejected? 
The  Jews  believed  in  the  Bible.    They  read  it  in  their 
synagogues  every  Sabbath  day.    They  carried  parts 
of  it  about  with  them  on  their  persons ;  and  yet  they 
crucified  the  very  Being  to  proclaim  whose  coming, 
and  power,  and  work  of  redemption  the  Bible  was 
given.     Counsel  tell  us  that  the  Society  of  Friends 
has  no  creed.     The  ancient  members  of  that  society 
were  imprisoned  on  account  of  their  faith.    They  have 
been  brought  before  kings  and  magistrates,  and  com- 
pelled to  give  a  statement  of  their  belief.     They  have 
repeatedly  put  forth  full  and  clear  declarations  of  their 
views ;  and  yet,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  we  are  told 
that  the  Friends  have  no  creed !     The  book  of  disci- 
plme  makes  it  a  duty  to  inquire  periodically  whether 
certain  persons  'are  sound  in   word  and  doctrine;' 
and  yet  we  are  told  that  they  have  no  creed;  that 
every  man  is  to  believe  as  he  lists,  without  a  leader, 
or  guide,  or  system  !" 


AT  THE   BAR.  55 

On  the  use  of  the  language  of  Scripture  as  a  vehi- 
cle for  the  expression  of  doctrinal  views,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  said :  "  The  learned  counsel,  to  show  that  the 
Friends  have  no  creed,  affirm  that  their  declarations 
of  faith  have  always  been  expressed  in  scriptural  lan- 
guage. Granting  this,  does  it  prove  no  creed?  In 
what  better  clothing  could  they  exhibit  their  faith  ? 
I  am  not  theologian  enough  to  decide  positively  what 
is  best  upon  a  question  like  this ;  but  it  seems  ,to  me 
that  the  safest  and  clearest  exhibition  of  a  man's  be- 
lief may  be  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  Bible  *  *  * 
While  we  adhere  to  these  words,  we  have  the  best 
truth  in  the  best  language.  "We  know  that,  in  litera- 
ry excellence,  the  English  Bible  is  the  best  composi- 
tion in  our  language.  Is  it,  then,  matter  of  import- 
ance that  the  Friends  should  express  their  faith  in  its 
phrases  ?  Let  the  Separatists,  if  they  can,  furnish  us 
with  a  better  lodgment  for  the  truth." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  then  proceeded  to  show  that  the 
points  before  mentioned,  the  Deity  of  Christ,  the  Atone- 
ment, and  the  Inspiration  of  the  Bible,  were  held  by 
the  society  as  fundamental  articles  of  faith ;  and  that 
Elias  Hicks  and  his  followers  had  rejected  these  arti- 
cles, and  therefore  could  not  properly  be  said  to  be- 
long to  the  society  as  it  was  originally  constituted, 
and  had  been  continued  in  successive  generations. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Friends  in  New  Jersey 
were  nearly  equally  divided  upon  the  opinions  of 
Elias  Hicks.  The  Court  of  Appeals,  therefore,  while 
they  sustained  the  claim  of  the  Orthodox  party  in 
point  of  law,  recommended  an  amicable  compromise 
in  relation  to  the  question  in  dispute.     This  advice 


56  LIFE   OF   FEELINGHUYSEN. 

was  afterward  sanctioned  by  a  legislative  enactment, 
and,  being  adopted  by  both  joarties,  resulted  in  a  gen- 
eral division  of  the  property  between  them  on  equita- 
ble principles. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  part  in  another  cause  of 
great  moment  in  relation  to  both  the  private  and  the 
public  interests  involved.  This  was  the  New  Jersey 
Proprietary  case,  Waddell  vs.  Martin.  It  concerned  the 
ownership  of  all  the  lands  under  water  around  the  en- 
tire coast,  and  along  all  the  tide- water  streams  of  New 
Jersey.  These  lands  are  of  immense  value  as  oyster- 
beds  and  fisheries.  Some  of  them,  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  York  and  elsewhere,  are  of  still  greater  value  for 
the  i^urposes  of  reclamation  and  improvement.  The 
question  at  issue  was,  Whether  they  belonged  to  the 
state  by  virtue  of  its  sovereignty,  or  to  the  Board  of 
Proprietors,  who  originally  owned  the  title  to  all  the 
lands  in  the  state,  and  had  never  made  any  grant  of 
the  title  to  these  lands  now  in  dispute  ?  The  Board 
of  Proprietors  claimed  them  as  part  of  the  private 
landed  property  of  New  Jersey;  the  state  claimed 
them  as  belonging  to  the  public  domain.  The  former 
party  retained  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  who  supported  their 
claim  in  a  masterly  argument  before  Judge  Baldwin, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  then  hold- 
ing circuit  at  Trenton.  Ilis  effort  was  successful: 
Judge  Baldwin  decided  in  favor  of  the  Proprietors ; 
but  on  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washing- 
ton, which  was  argued  by  other  counsel  after  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen had  withdrawn  from  practice,  the  judg- 
ment was  reversed,  and  the  title  of  the  state  confirmed. 

This  was  about  the  last  case  in  which  he  was  en- 


,  AT  THE   BAR.  57 

gaged.     He  left  the  bar  in  1838  to  take  the  charge  of 

a  literary  institution ;  but  his  professional  associates, 
and  those  who  remember  him  as  an  advocate,  uniform- 
ly contend  that  the  bar  was  his  proper  sphere.  It  was 
in  the  forum  that  his  peculiar  gifts,  his  quick  insight, 
his  sharp  discrimination,  his  impetuous  eloquence, 
shone  with  greatest  lustre.  It  is  said  that  hardly  a 
single  Jersey  lawyer  of  the  last  generation  can  be  met, 
who  will  not,  when  reminded  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
retirement  to  academic  life,  shake  his  head,  and  insist 
that  that  step  was  erroneously  taken ;  that  a  man  so 
admirably  adapted  in  every  respect  to  the  bar  should 
have  remained  there ;  and  that  to  put  him  at  the  head 
of  any  university  was  like  burying  him  in  a  marble 
mausoleum  before  his  time  had  come.  This  state- 
ment does  not  lack  some  elements,  or  at  least  appear- 
ances of  truth.  Nor  was  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  insensi 
ble  to  considerations  of  this  kind.  His  friends,  his  as- 
sociations, his  habits,  his  tastes,  his  pleasures,  were  all 
connected  with  the  bar ;  his  practice  yielded  him  all 
the  income  he  could  ask  or  desire ;  and  he  was  mak- 
ing a  great  sacrifice  in  many  ways  in  becoming  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University.  But  mere  personal  consid- 
erations never  controlled  his  mind.  Where  duty  beck- 
oned, he  had  no  hesitation  in  following.  He  believed 
that  it  was  her  voice  which  summoned  him  to  New 
York ;  nor  has  any  one  a  right  now  to  say  that  this 
was  a  mistake.  Doubtless  it  had  been  better  for  his 
professional  reputation,  his  private  fortune,  and  his 
personal  comfort  to  have  continued  in  the  arena  al- 
ready thickly  strewn  with  the  trophies  of  his  success. 
But  no  man  liveth  or  ought  to  live  only  for  himself. 

C2 


58  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

And  it  may  well  be  that  the  Omniscient  eye  sees  a  far 
larger  harvest  of  usefulness  gathered  from  the  pres- 
ence of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  in  academic  halls 
than  could  have  been  gained  from  the  longest  and 
most  successful  forensic  career. 


IN  THE   SENATE.  59 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
1829—1835. 

Composition  of  the  Senate.— Great  Questions  agitated.— Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  Course. — The  Indian  Bill. — The  Sunday-Mail  Ques- 
tion.— Day  of  Fasting  for  the  Cholera. — Encomiums  of  Clay  and 
Webster, — Letter  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett. 

In  the  year  1829  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  his  seat 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he  continued 
until  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  he  was  elect- 
ed. During  the  first  four  years  his  colleague  from  New 
Jersey  was  the  Hon.  Mahlon  Dickerson,  afterward  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  under  Presidents  Jackson  and  Yan 
Buren ;  during  the  remaining  two  years,  his  old  class- 
mate, Samuel  L.  Southard,  who  had  been  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  under  Presidents  Monroe  and  J.  Q.  Adams, 
was  his  associate. 

It  has  generally  been  admitted  that  the  Senate  nev- 
er contained  a  larger  number  of  eminent  men  than  it 
did  at  this  period.  The  leading  minds  of  every  sec- 
tion of  the  country  and  of  every  political  party  were 
to  be  found  on  the  floor  of  the  upper  house  of  Con- 
gress. Among  these,  three  names  stand  out  with  a 
prominence  not  to  be  mistaken.  Even  now  the  per- 
son, character,  policy,  and  influence  of  Daniel  "Webster, 
of  Henry  Clay,  and  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  are  better 
known  than  those  of  more  than  one  holder  of  that 
great  prize,  the  presidential  chair,  after  which  they 


60  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

all  unsuccessfully  aspired,  and  will  be  freshly  remem- 
bered long  after  the  latter  are  buried  in  oblivion. 
These  three  differed  widely  in  their  origin,  training, 
and  cast  of  mind,  but  they  were  all  men  of  strongly- 
marked  character,  of  unusual  natural  gifts,  and  well 
adapted  to  lead  great  parties  in  the  republic.  Each 
was  a  well-read  lawyer,  an  experienced  legislator,  a 
far-seeing  statesman,  and  a  practiced  debater;  and 
when  they  met  in  the  Senate  in  opposition  to  the 
administration  of  General  Jackson,  it  was  in  the  ma- 
turity of  their  powers  and  fame.  But  besides  these 
there  were  many  others  in  the  Senate  inferior  only  to 
them  in  ability  and  influence.  Such  were  Holmes  of 
Maine,  "Woodbury  ofJ^^^w  Hampshire,  Foot  of  Con- 
necticut, Bobbins  of  Rhode  Island,  Marcy  and  Wright 
of  New  York,  Dallas  and  Wilkins  of  Pennsylvania, 
Clayton  of  Delaware,  Eives,  Tyler,  and  Tazewell  of 
"Virginia,  Mangum  of  North  Carolina,  Hayne  and  Pres- 
ton of  South  Carolina,  Forsyth  of  Georgia,  King  of 
Alabama,  Poindexter  of  Mississippi,  Edward  Living- 
ston of  Louisiana,  Grundy  and  White  of  Tennessee, 
Bibb  of  Kentucky,  Ewing  of  Ohio,  and  Benton  of 
Missouri ;  every  one  of  whom  not  only  achieved  dis- 
tinction in  his  own  state,  but  also  had  considerable  na- 
tional reputation.* 

The  period  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  senatorial  serv- 
ice was  distinguished  by  the  importance  of  the  issues 
before  the  country,  as  well  as  by  the  greatness  of  the 
men  who  discussed  and  decided  them.  The  bold  and 
pronounced  character  of  General  Jackson  did  not  al- 

*  One  half  of  them  either  had  heen,  or  became  cabinet  officers  or 
representatives  of  the  country  at  foreign  courts. 


IN  THE   SENATE.  61 

low  liim  to  follow  tortuous  courses  or  pursue  an 
equivocal  policy.  On  every  question  he  took  his  po- 
sition clearly,  and  was  prepared  to  push  his  opponents 
to  the  wall.  Debate  was  not  confined  to  side  issues  or 
incidental  points,  but  touched  fundamental  principles, 
and  affected  questions  coeval  with  the  formation  of  the 
government.  The  currency,  the  tariff,  the  autonomy 
of  the  Indian  tribes,  the  scope  of  pension  laws,  the 
powers  of  the  executive  in  relation  to  Congress,  and 
the  powers  of  the  general  government  in  relation  to 
the  states — these,  and  such  as  these,  were  the  great 
themes  which  then  occupied  the  time  and  thought  of 
the  statesmen  of  the  country.  On  the  last  of  these  is- 
sues our  generation  has  seen  a  decision  practically 
reached  by  force  of  arms  in  resistance  to  a  causeless 
and  treacherous  rebellion.  But  the  principles  under- 
lying that  subject  have  never  been  more  thoroughly, 
ably,  and  eloquently  discussed  than  they  were  in  the 
years  1832  and  1833.  The  whole  case  was  then  ex- 
hausted ;  nor  has  any  thing  been  added  on  either  side, 
in  the  shape  of  argument,  to  what  was  then  urged,  al- 
though, of  course,  the  appeal  to  force  has  forever  set- 
tled the  question,  and  shown  that  the  proclamation  of 
General  Jackson  in  December,  1832,  will  henceforth 
be  deemed  a  just  exposition  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion. 

In  all  these  conflicts  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  a  de- 
cided part,  for  he  never  affected  a  neutral  position. 
Believing  the  principles  of  the  party  with  which  he 
acted  to  be  correct  and  wise,  he  gave  them  a  cordial 
and  persistent  support.  But  his  fidelity  to  political 
associates  never  degenerated  into  mere  partisanship. 


62  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

He  disliked  a  factious  opposition  to  the  administra- 
tion, and  rigidly  confined  bis  course  to  sucli  measures 
as  seemed  clearly  called  for  by  the  circumstances  of 
the  country.  On  one  memorable  occasion,  when  the 
Senate  acted  upon  the  nomination  of  the  Hon.  Martin 
Van  Buren  as  minister  to  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  had  great  dif&culty  in  concurring  with  his 
party  in  a  vote  of  disapproval.  He,  however,  yielded 
at  last,  and  his  name  stands  upon  the  record  with  the 
majority  in  opposition  to  the  nomination.  But  he  al- 
ways declared  that  the  measure,  however  justifiable, 
was  an  impolitic  one,  and  predicted  the  very  conse- 
quences which  in  a  few  years  ensued  from  it.  In- 
deed, his  political  sagacity  was  not  often  at  fault.  His 
coolness  and  fairness  gave  his  mind  fair  play,  and  dis- 
embarrassed his  judgment  from  the  passions  and  prej- 
udices which  frequently  mislead  very  able  men. 

At  a  time  when  party  lines  were  very  strictly 
drawn,  and  personal  animosities  added  to  the  bitter- 
ness of  political  divisions,  he  still  maintained  an  inde- 
pendent judgment;  and  although  habitually  acting 
with  the  opponents  of  the  administration,  he  never 
hesitated  to  differ  from  them  rather  than  violate  his 
own  sense  of  right. 

His  participation  in  the  business  of  the  Senate  jus- 
tified the  hopes  inspired  by  the  success  of  his  previous 
career.  Although  by  no  means  the  equal  of  any  of 
the  three  great  representatives  of  the  East,  "West,  and 
South,  he  yet  held  a  prominent  place  in  the  commit- 
tee-room and  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  and  maintain- 
ed with  signal  ability  the  honor  of  the  state  he  repre- 
sented.   Indeed,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  New  Jer- 


IN  THE  SENATE.  63 

sey  ever  had  as  much  influence  in  the  national  coun- 
cils as  when  Frelinghuyseu  and  Southard  were  her 
senators  at  Washington,  "Whether  in  formal  discus- 
sions on  great  topics,  or  in  the  current  debates  from 
day  to  day,  they  were  uniformly  found  equal  to  the 
call  made  upon  them,  and  even  political  opponents 
could  not  deny  the  ability  with  which  they  upheld  the 
policy  they  had  espoused. 

Although  there  were  seasons  when  the  excitement  of 
feeling  reached  a  pitch  almost  unprecedented,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuyseu throughout  preserved  the  highest  stand- 
ard of  senatorial  dignity.  He  never  descended  to  per- 
sonalities, never  engaged  in  unseemly  altercations. 
His  dignified  bearing,  his  transparent  candor,  his  un- 
questionable integrity,  and  his  high  sense  of  honor,  se- 
cured him  the  cordial  respect  of  all  parties.  They 
who  attended  to  his  course  saw  in  him  a  coolness,  dis- 
crimination, insight,  shrewdness,  and  capacity  which 
marked  him  out  as  a  something  more  than  a  mere 
politician  or  debater.  He  was  a  statesman.  He  took 
large  views  of  things.  He  looked  beyond  present 
emergencies,  and  acted  for  the  future.  Ardently  at- 
tached to  his  own  patriotic  state,  and  ever  sensitive  to 
whatever  touched  her  honor  or  welfare,  he  yet  re- 
membered that  he  was  a  senator  of  the  United  States, 
and  legislated  for  the  country  as  a  whole.  He  was 
not  a  mere  theorist,  not "  an  impracticable."  Firm  and 
immovable  where  the  everlasting  principles  of  recti- 
tude are  concerned,  well  convinced  that  it  is  as  true 
in  history  and  experience  as  it  is  in  Scripture  that 
"righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,"  he  recognized  the 
mixed  elements  with  which  every  Legislature  has  to 


64:  LIFE   OF   FKELINGHUYSEN. 

deal,  the  necessary  limitations  of  all  civil  enactments, 
the  wisdom  of  not  governing  too  mncli,  and  the  just 
claims  of  expediency  in  legislation.  Notwithstanding 
the  high  conception  of  a  free  Christian  commonwealth 
which  lay  at  the  basis  of  his  public  course,  he  was  no 
Utopian.  His  ends  were  as  rational  as  the  means  by 
which  he  pursued  them.  He  may  have  erred  in  par- 
ticular measures,  but  the  general  scope  of  his  policy 
was  large,  comprehensive,  enlightened,  and  judicious, 
yet  eminently  practical. 

The  Hon.  George  Chambers,  of  Pennsylvania,  his 
classmate  at  Princeton,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives  during  two  years  of  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  senatorial  term,  says  of  him  that  "  he 
was  attentive,  considerate,  and  judicious  in  his  action, 
and  ever  faithful  to  his  constituents,  the  Union,  and 
the  welfare  of  his  country.  He  was  not  hasty  or  im- 
pulsive under  any  excitement,  and  seldom  spoke  in 
debate ;  but  when  he  did,  his  remarks  were  appropri- 
ate, and  commanded  attention." 

THE  INDIAN   QUESTION. 

The  first  great  topic  on  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
addressed  the  Senate  was  the  bill  for  the  removal  of 
the  Indian  tribes  residing  within  states  and  organized 
territories  of  the  Union,  having  particular  reference  to 
those  within  the  limits  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mis- 
sissippi. The  lands  occupied  by  these  aborigines,  be- 
ing admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  cotton,  the 
culture  of  which  had  been  greatly  stimulated  by  the 
increasing  price  which  the  raw  material  obtained  in 
the  markets  of  the  world,  were  looked  upon  by  the 


IN  THE   SENATE.  65 

white  population  witli  covetous  eyes,  and  every  in- 
ducement was  offered  to  the  original  proprietors  to 
sell  their  title  and  remove.  But  the  territory  was 
equally  desirable  to  them,  not  only  as  having  been 
the  home  of  their  forefathers  and  the  place  of  their 
sepulchres,  but  also  as  being,  by  its  natural  features, 
just  the  country  suited  to  their  tastes  and  habits.  Its 
mixture  of  hill  and  valley,  forest  and  prairie,  its  nu- 
merous springs  and  streams,  its  abundance  of  fish  and 
game,  its  fertile  soil  and  equable  climate,  were' exactly 
suited  to  the  half  nomad,  half  planting  life  pursued 
by  the  great  body  of  the  Indians.  They  therefore  al- 
most unanimously  refused  to  sell.  But  their  white 
neighbors  were  not  to  be  foiled.  They  determined  to 
make  the  Indians  willing,  and  even  eager  to  remove. 
This  was  accomplished  by  extending  the  state  laws 
over  them,  with  the  abrogation  of  all  their  own  "  laws, 
ordinances,  orders,  and  regulations  of  any  kind  what- 
ever ;"  by  making  it  a  penal  offense  for  any  person  to 
endeavor,  by  any  means,  to  prevent  any  Indian  from 
emigrating;  and  by  disqualifying  any  Indian  from 
being  a  competent  witness  in  courts  in  any  case  to 
which  a  white  person  was  a  party,  unless  such  white 
person  resided  among  the  Indians. 

But,  in  order  to  give  effect  to  these  atrocious  stat- 
utes, it  was  necessary  to  secure  the  assent  of  the  fed- 
eral government,  or,  rather,  to  prevent  the  continu- 
ance of  the  protection  hitherto  given  by  it  to  the  ab- 
origines against  all  intruders  upon  their  lands.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  conformity  to  the  suggestions  of  Presi- 
dent Jackson  in  his  first  annual  message,  a  bill  was 
introduced  in  Congress  "providing  for  an  exchange 


66  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

of  lands  with  tlie  Indians  residing  in  any  of  the  states 
or  territories,  and  for  their  removal  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Eiver."  When  this  bill  came  np  for  consid- 
eration in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  moved  the 
following  amendment : 

'■^Provided  always^  That,  until  the  said  tribes  or  na- 
tions shall  choose  to  remove,  as  by  this  act  is  contem- 
plated, they  shall  be  protected  in  their  present  posses- 
sions, and  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  their  rights  of  ter- 
ritory and  government,  as  heretofore  exercised  and 
enjoyed,  from  all  interruptions  and  encroachments, 

^^  And  provided  also,  That  before  any  removal  shall 
take  place  of  any  of  the  said  tribes  or  nations,  and  be- 
fore any  exchange  or  exchanges  of  land  be  made  as 
aforesaid,  that  the  right  of  any  such  tribes  or  nations 
in  the  premises  shall  be  stipulated  for,  secured,  and 
guarantied  by  treaty  or  treaties  as  heretofore  made." 

These  provisos  were  sustained  by  him  in  a  sj)eech 
of  very  great  power  and  eloquence.  He  showed  that 
the  principles  they  involved  were  not  only  founded  in 
everlasting  truth  and  right,  but  had  been  acted  upon 
ever  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  by  all 
branches  of  the  government,  beginning  with  the  Fa- 
ther of  his  Country ;  that  during  the  Eevolution,  and 
under  the  Confederation,  they  had  been  expressly  rec- 
ognized by  the  Continental  Congress;  and  that,  still 
earlier,  the  royal  proclamations  and  ordinances  from 
Great  Britain  had  distinctly  assumed  the  same  ground. 
After  reciting  and  explaining  the  various  solemn  treat- 
ies made  by  the  national  government  with  the  Indian 
tribes,  he  riveted  his  argument  by  showing  from  the 
public  records  of  the  very  states  now  engaged  in  this 


IN  THE   SENATE.  67 

oppression  of  tlie  Indians,  that  treaties  with  these 
tribes  were  recorded  on  their  own  statute-books  as 
parts  of  their  land  titles,  and  that  thus,  by  their  own 
act,  thev  were  concluded  on  the  point  in  question. 
The  following  is  the  peroration  of  this  remarkable  ef- 
fort: 

"  Sir,  our  fears  have  been  addressed  in  behalf  of 
those  states  whose  legislation  we  resist ;  and  it  is  in- 
quired with  solicitude,  would  you  urge  us  to  arms 
with  Georgia?  No,  sir.  This  tremendous  alterna- 
tive will  not  be  necessary.  Let  the  general  govern- 
ment come  out,  as  it  should,  with  decided  and  temper- 
ate firmness,  and  officially  announce  to  Georgia,  and 
the  other  states,  that  if  the  Indian  tribes  choose  to  re- 
main, they  will  be  protected  against  all  interference 
and  encroachment ;  and  such  is  my  confidence  in  the 
sense  of  justice,  in  the  respect  for  law,  prevailing  in 
that  great  body  of  this  portion  of  our  fellow-citizens, 
that  I  believe  they  would  submit  to  the  authority  of 
the  nation.  I  can  expect  no  other  issue.  But  if  the 
general  government  be  urged  to  the  crisis,  never  to  be 
anticipated,  of  appealing  to  the  last  resort  of  her  pow- 
ers ;  and  when  reason,  argument,  and  persuasion  fail, 
to  raise  her  strong  arm  to  repress  the  violations  of  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  I  ask,  is  it  not  in  her  bond, 
sir  ?  Is  her  guaranty  a  rope  of  sand  ?  This  effective 
weapon  has  often  been  employed  to  chastise  the  poor 
Indians,  sometimes  with  dreadful  vengeance  I  fear, 
and  shall  not  their  protection  avail  to  draw  it  from  the 
scabbard  ?  Permit  me  to  refer  the  Senate  to  the  views 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  directly  connected  with  this  delicate, 
yet  sacred  duty  of  protection.  In  1791,  when  he  was 
Secretaiy  of  State,  there  were  some  symptoms  of  col- 
lision oil  the  Indian  subject.  This  induced  the  letter 
from  him  to  General  Knox,  then  our  Secretary  of 
War,  a  part  of  which  I  will  read :  '  I  am  of  opinion 


68  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEK 

that  government  should  firmly  maintain  this  ground: 
that  the  Indians  have  a  right  to  the  occujxiiion  of  their 
Icuids,  independent  of  the  states  within  whose  chartered 
limits  they  happen  to  be ;  that  until  they  cede  them 
hy  treaty^  or  other  transaction  equivalent  to  a  treaty, 
no  act  of  a  state  can  give  a  right  to  such  lands ;  that 
neither  under  the  present  Constitution,  nor  the  ancient 
Confederation,  had  any  state  or  persons  a  right  to  treat 
with  the  Indians,  without  the  consent  of  the  general 
government ;  that  the  consent  has  never  been  given 
by  any  treaty  for  the  cession  of  the  lands  in  question ; 
that  the  government  is  determined  to  exert  all  its  en- 
ergy for  the  patronage  and  protection  of  the  rights  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  preservation  of  peace  between  the 
United  States  and  them ;  and  that  if  any  settlements 
are  made  on  lands  not  ceded  hy  them,  without  the  pre- 
vious consent  of  the  United  States,  the  government 
will  think  itself  bound,  not  only  to  declare  to  the  In- 
dians that  such  settlements  are  without  the  authority 
or  protection  of  the  United  States,  but  to  remove  them 
also  by  public  force.'' 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  seems  to  have  been  disturbed  by  no 
morbid  sensibilities.  He  speaks  out  as  became  a  de- 
termined statesman.  We  can  trace  in  this  document 
the  same  spirit  which  shed  its  influence  on  a  more 
eventful  paper — the  declaration  of  our  rights,  and  of 
our  purpose  to  maintain  and  defend  them.  He  look- 
ed right  onward,  in  the  broad  path  of  public  duty ; 
and  if,  in  his  way,  he  met  the  terrors  of  state  collision 
and  conflict,  he  was  in  no  degree  intimidated.  The 
faith  of  treaties  was  his  guide;  and  he  would  not 
flinch  in  his  purposes,  nor  surrender  the  Indians  to 
state  encroachments.  Let  such  decided  policy  go  forth 
in  the  majesty  of  our  laws  now,  and,  sir,  Georgia  will 
yield.  She  will  never  encounter  the  responsibilities 
or  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war.  But  if  she  should,  no 
stains  of  blood  will  be  on  our  skirts  ;  on  herself  the 
guilt  will  abide  forever. 


IN  THE   SENATE.  69 

"Mr.  President,  if  we  abandon  these  aboriginal  pro- 
prietors of  our  soil — these  early  allies  and  adopted 
children  of  our  forefathers,  how  shall  we  justify  it  to 
our  country?  to  all  the  glory  of  the  past,  and  the  prom- 
ise of  the  future?  Her  good  name  is  worth  all  else 
besides  that  contributes  to  her  greatness.  And,  as  I 
regard  this  crisis  in  her  history,  the  time  has  come 
when  this  unbought  treasure  shall  be  plucked  from 
dishonor,  or  abandoned  to  reproach. 

"How  shall  we  justify  this  trespass  to  ourselves? 
Sir,  we  may  deride  it,  and  laugh  it  to  scorn  now ;  but 
the  occasion  luill  meet  every  man,  when  he  must  look 
inward,  and  make  honest  inquisition  there.  Let  us 
beware  how,  by  oppressive  encroachments  upon  the 
sacred  privileges  of  our  Indian  neighbors,  we  minister 
to  the  agonies  of  future  remorse. 

"I  have,  in  my  humble  measure,  attempted  to  dis- 
charge a  public  and  most  solemn  duty  toward  an  in- 
teresting portion  of  my  fellow-men.  Should  it  prove 
to  be  as  fruitless  as  I  know  it  to  be  below  the  weight 
of  their  claims,  yet  even  then,  sir,  it  will  have  its  con- 
solations. Defeat  in  such  a  cause  is  far  above  the  tri- 
umphs of  unrighteous  power ;  and  in  the  language  of 
an  eloquent  writer, '  I  had  rather  receive  the  blessing 
of  one  poor  Cherokee,  as  he  casts  his  last  look  back 
upon  his  country,  for  having,  though  in  vain,  attempt- 
ed to  prevent  his  banishment,  than  to  sleep  beneath 
the  marble  of  all  the  Cassars.'  " 

But  all  this  display  of  argument,  research,  elo- 
quence, whether  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  or  others,  was 
in  vain.  The  question  became  mingled  inextricably 
with  the  party  divisions  of  the  times ;  and  the  over- 
whelming popularity  of  General  Jackson  concurred 
with  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  states  immediately 
concerned  to  defeat  the  provisos,  and  the  original  bill 
was  passed,  although  by    inconsiderable   majorities, 


70  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

numbering,  indeed,  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress, 
only  five  votes.  But  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  able  advo- 
cacy of  the  cause  of  right,  humanity,  and  Christian 
principle  brought  him  prominently  before  the  nation, 
secured  him  the  title  of  the  Christian  Statesman,  and 
made  his  name  familiar  as  a  household  word  to  all  the 
people  of  God  throughout  the  land.  The  annexed 
stanzas,  by  one  who  has  since  attained  an  unhappy 
notoriety,  may  be  taken  as  an  expression  of  the  feel- 
ings, not  of  the  writer  only,  but  of  the  great  body  of 
American  Christians : 

TO   THE   HON.  THEODORE   FEELINGHUTSEN,  ON   READING   HIS   ELO- 
QUENT  SPEECH   IN   DEFENSE   OF   INDIAN  RIGHTS. 

BY  W.  L.  GAKKISON. 

If  unto  marble  statues  thou  hadst  spoken, 

Or  icy  hearts  congealed  by  polar  years, 
The  strength  of  thy  pure  eloquence  had  broken, 

Its  generous  heat  had  melted  them  to  tears ; 
Which  pearly  drops  had  been  a  rainbow  token, 

Bidding  the  red  men  soothe  their  gloomy  fears. 

If  Honor,  Justice,  Truth  had  not  forsaken 
The  place  long  hallowed  as  their  bright  abode. 

The  faith  of  treaties  never  had  been  shaken, 

Our  country  would  have  kept  the  trust  she  owed ; 

Nor  Violence  nor  Treachery  had  taken 

Away  those  rights  which  Nature's  God  bestowed. 

Fruitless  thy  mighty  efforts — vain  appealing 

To  grasping  Avarice,  that  ne'er  relents ; 
To  party  power,  that  shamelessly  is  stealing, 

Banditti-like,  whatever  spoil  it  scents ; 
To  base  Intrigue,  his  cloven  foot  revealing, 

That  struts  in  Honesty's  habiliments. 

Our  land,  once  green  as  Paradise,  is  hoary, 
E'en  in  its  youth,  with  tyranny  and  crime ; 

Its  soil  with  blood  of  Afric's  sons  is  gory. 
Whose  wrongs  eternity  can  tell,  not  time. 

The  red  man's  woes  shall  swell  the  damning  story, 
To  be  rehearsed  in  every  age  and  clime. 


IN  THE   SENATE.  71 

Yet,  Frelinghuysen,  gratitude  is  due  thee, 
And  loftier  praise  than  language  can  supply ; 

Guilt  may  denounce  and  Calumny  pursue  thee, 
And  pensioned  Impudence  thy  worth  decry ; 

Brilliant  and  pure,  posterity  shall  view  thee 
As  a  fair  planet  in  a  troublous  sky. 

Be  not  dismayed.     On  God's  own  strength  relying, 
Stand  boldly  up,  meek  soldier  of  the  Cross ; 

For  thee  ten  thousand  prayers  are  heavenward  flying ; 
Thy  soul  is  purged  from  earthly  rust  and  dross. 

Patriot  and  Christian,  ardent,  self-denying, 
How  could  we  bear  resignedly  thy  loss  ? 

THE  SUNDAY-MAIL   QUESTION. 

Prior  to  the  year  1810  there  was  no  law  of  Con- 
gress requiring  the  transportation  of  the  mail  and  the 
delivery  of  its  contents  on  the  Lord's  day.  In  that 
year,  however,  a  statute  was  enacted,  the  9th  section 
of  which  made  it  "  the  duty  of  the  postmaster,  at  all 
reasonable  hours,  on  every  day  of  the  lueeh^  to  deliver 
on  demand  any  letter,  paper,"  etc.  Thus,  what  was 
before  a  matter  of  courtesy,  became  one  of  obligation. 
If  the  Postmaster  General  directed  a  mail  to  be  car- 
ried on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  the  deputy  was  re- 
quired to  be  in  his  offi.ce  and  receive  it.  Such  an  inva- 
sion of  the  sacredness  of  the  day  of  rest  did  not  pass 
without  notice.  Petitions  and  memorials  requesting 
the  repeal  of  the  statute  were  presented  in  1811, 1812, 
1815,  and  1817,  without  effect.  In  1828  and  1829  a 
more  formal  and  concerted  effort  was  made,  and  me- 
morials were  sent  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  A 
report  in  opposition  to  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners 
was  made  to  the  Senate  by  the  Hon.  Eichard  M.  John- 
son, of  Kentucky,  on  the  19th  of  January,  1829 ;  and 
in  the  next  year  a  similar,  but  much  more  elaborate 
report  was  made  to  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  by 


72  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

the  same  gentleman,  who  had  in  the  interval  been 
transferred  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  house  ©f 
Congress.  This  second  report  of  Colonel  Johnson  was 
made  on  the  4th  of  March,  1830.  It  aroused  still 
more  the  feelings  alike  of  the  friends  and  the  foes  of 
the  proposed  reform.  The  question  was  extensively- 
agitated  in  the  pulpit  and  by  the  press,  and  the  senti- 
ment was  very  general  among  the  Christian  commu- 
nity that  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  secure  proper 
legislation  on  the  point.  Especially  was  it  expected 
of  Christian  men  in  Congress  that  they  would  exert 
themselves  in  favor  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath. 

On  Tuesday,  the  9th  of  March,  1830,  Mr.  Frehng- 
huysen  offered  the  following  paper  in  the  Senate : 

"The  Sabbath  is  justly  regarded  as  a  divine  insti- 
tution, closely  connected  with  individual  and  nation- 
al prosperity.  No  Legislature  can  rightly  resist  its 
claims;  and  although  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  from  the  peculiar  and  limited  constitution  of 
the  general  government,  can  not  by  law  enforce  its 
observance,  yet,  as  they  should  not,  by  positive  legis- 
lation, encroach  upon  the  sacredness  of  this  day,  or 
weaken  its  authority  in  the  estimation  of  the  people, 
therefore  it  is 

'''Resolved^  That  the  Committee  on  the  Post-office 
and  Post-roads  be  instructed  to  report  a  bill  repealing 
so  much  of  the  act  on  the  regulation  of  post-offices  as 
requires  the  delivery  of  letters,  packets,  and  papers  on 
the  Sabbath ;  and,  farther,  to  prohibit  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  mail  on  that  day." 

This  resolution  did  not  come  up  for  consideration 
until  the  8th  of  May,  when  its  author  addressed  the 


IN  THE   SENATE.  73 

Senate  at  length,  in  its  support.  He  was  listened  to 
with  great  attention  by  the  House,  and  his  argument 
was  deemed  cogent  enough  to  require  a  reply  from 
the  celebrated  Edward  Livingston,  of  Louisiana. 

A  few  extracts  from  this  speech  will  indicate  the 
course  of  his  argument : 

"  The  public  recognition  of  the  Sabbath  is  recorded 
in  our  federal  Constitution.  The  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  discharge  of  the  high  functions 
of  his  legislative  department,  is  expressly  relieved 
from  all  embarrassment  on  Sunday.  The  business 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  highest  judicial  tribunal 
of  the  country,  is  by  law  directed  to  be  suspended 
on  Sunday.  Both  houses  of  Congress,  the  offices  of 
the  State,  Treasury,  War,  and  Navy  Departments,  are 
all  closed  on  Sunday,  and  all  the  states  of  the  Union, 
I  believe  (twenty-three  of  them  certainly),  by  explicit 
legislative  enactments,  acknowledge  and  declare  the 
religious  authority  of  the  Sabbath.  Sir,  these  state 
laws  do  not  merely  notice  this  day,  but  they  in  terms 
require  its  religious  observance,  and  prohibit  its  prof- 
anation under  proper  penalties." 

"  The  example  of  the  Old  World  also  pleads  pow- 
erfully in  behalf  of  this  sacred  institution.  London, 
with  all  its  wealth,  business,  and  enterprise,  regards  the 
Sabbath.  No  mail  is  opened  or  closed  on  that  day. 
And  although  there  is  probably  five  times  as  much 
commerce  between  London  and  Liverpool  as  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  no  mail  leaves  the  me- 
tropolis for  Liverpool  between  Saturday  evening  and 
Monday  morning ;  and  the  mercantile  classes  of  these 
communities  make  no  complaint  of  this  interruption. 
No,  sir,  they  rejoice  at  the  relief  and  refreshment  from 
the  toils  of  worldly  business ;  that  on  one  day  in  sev- 
en there  may  be  a  pause  in  the  anxieties  of  eager  spec- 
ulation ;  and  that  even  selfish  cupidity  is  compelled 
to  suspend  its  pursuits.     Now,  sir,  in  this  review  of 


74  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN, 

the  case,  it  must  appear  a  most  singular  prejudice  that 
is  now  excited  and  raised  against  all  efforts  to  restore 
our  national  legislation  to  a  consistency  with  its  own 
principles,  so  often  avowed.  It  is  as  absurd  as  it  is  un- 
just. Every  state  of  the  Union  has,  from  its  very  or- 
igin, preserved  just  such  a  connection  between  Church 
and  State  as  is  now  deprecated,  and  by  means  much 
more  rigorous  than  the  repeal  of  this  oppressive  sec- 
tion. They  have  fixed  the  day ;  they  have  enjoined 
its  observance ;  they  have  specified  and  prohibited  its 
profanation  in  particular  details,  and  annexed  the  sanc- 
tions of  legal  penalties ;  and  yet,  after  all  this,  when 
Congress  is  respectfully  requested  to  be  passive,  and 
not  to  command  its  violation,  but  to  leave  the  Sabbath 
alone,  the  note  of  alarm  is  sounded  (and  many  good 
men  are  deluded  by  it)  that  a  dangerous  conspiracy  is 
meditated  against  the  freedom  of  conscience." 

"Congress  is  not  asked  to  legislate  into  existence 
the  precepts  of  piety.  No,  these  are  enacted  already ; 
they  can  never  be  repealed,  and  it  is  a  most  dangerous 
and  destructive  delusion  to  suppose  that  while,  as  in- 
dividuals and  families,  we  are  bound  to  respect  the 
principles  of  religion,  yet,  when  we  assume  the  char- 
acter of  states  and  nations,  these  cease  to  exert  any 
legitimate  influence.  Such  was  not  the  political  faith 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  Washington  loved  to 
cherish  that  connection  between  Church  and  State 
which  led  to  universal  public  and  private  virtue,  and 
this  result,  he  deeply  realized,  could  flow  alone  from 
the  prevalence  of  religious  principles." 

"  Sir,  this  day  is  the  asgis  of  a  republican  and  free 
people.  It  is  the  poor  man's  friend.  It  elevates  him 
and  his  family  by  promoting  decency  of  manners, 
neatness,  and  order.  It  is  the  only  time  which  the 
necessities  of  his  condition  and  the  constitution  of  so- 
ciety spare  to  him  for  rest  and  reflection ;  and  hence 
every  inroad  upon  its  sacredness  is  a  direct  attack 
upon  his  best  privileges.     I  believe,  sir,  that  the  ad- 


IN   THE   SENATE.  75 

versary  of  our  race,  could  lie  be  permitted  to  select 
the  single  object,  would  strike  the  blow  at  this  divine 
institution.  He  would  say  resign  to  me  this  great  mor- 
al lever ;  let  my  votaries  drive  on  the  pursuits  of  busi- 
ness, the  schemes  of  enterprise  and  ambition,  without 
interruption ;  let  there  be  no  time  for  man  to  reflect, 
to  gather  in  his  thoughts,  to  renew  his  life,  and  to  con- 
sider his  origin  and  his  destiny,  and  I  desire  no  more. 
Mr.  President,  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  to 
be  contemned  and  forgotten ;  the  constitution  of  his 
nature  requires  just  such  a  season.  It  is  identified 
with  his  moral  tendencies.  God  has  ordained  it  in  in- 
finite benevolence.  The  reason  for  it,  as  recorded  in 
his  Word,  was  his  own  example.  It  began  with  crea- 
tion. The  first  week  of  time  was  blessed  with  a  Sab- 
bath. The  garden  of  Eden  would  not  have  smiled  in 
all  its  loveliness  had  not  the  light  of  this  day  shone 
upon  it.  Blot  it  out,  and  the  hope  of  the  world  is  ex- 
tinguished. When  the  whirlwind  raged  in  France, 
how  was  it,  sir?  They  could  not  carry  their  measures 
of  ferocity  and  blood  while  this  last  palladium  of  vir- 
tue relnained.  Desolation  seemed  to  pause  in  its 
course — its  waves  almost  subsided — when  the  spirits 
of  evil  struck  this  hallowed  day  from  the  calendar, 
and  enacted  a  decade  to  the  goddess  of  Eeason,  after 
which  the  besom  swept  all  before  it. 

"I  firmly  believe  that  the  repeal  of  this  single  section 
and  the  suspension  of  the  mail  would  exert  the  hap- 
piest influence.  It  would  call  up  public  attention.  It 
would  present  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath  with  such 
weight  of  authority  as  would,  I  hope,  establish  and 
perpetuate  it  as  an  effective  defense  around  our  free  in- 
situtions.  The  mail  arrested  and  the  post-oflSce  closed 
on  Sunday !  by  the  solemn  authority  of  Congress ! 
who  can  fail  to  perceive  the  noble  impulse  that  would 
be  given?  Sir,  this  would  correct  all  false  and  de- 
grading estimates  of  this  sacred  day ;  it  would  almost 
of  itself  form  a  public  sentiment.     The  flood  of  vice 


76  LIFE   OF  FRELmGHUYSEN. 

and  infidelity  would  be  stayed  in  their  course.  Sucli 
high  example  would  silence  the  cavils  of  the  profane, 
and  this,  as  I  understand  it,  is  the  true  old-fashioned 
way  to  popularity.  It  is  not  that  sickly  principle 
which  flatters  public  vices  and  connives  at  national 
sins,  but  which,  in  the  purity  of  its  purposes,  dares  to 
rebuke  them,  and  by  wise  and  wholesome  measures  to 
correct  them." 

The  following  notices  of  this  speech  are  found  in 
the  correspondence  of  Jeremiah  Evarts.  Under  date 
of  May  8, 1830,  he  writes,  "  This  day  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  called  up  his  resolution  in  relation  to  Sabbath 
mails,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I  was  absent.  I  have 
heard  from  a  spectator  that  he  spoke  an  hour  and  a 
half  or  more,  and  very  much  to  the  purpose.  Mr. 
Livingston  replied  in  a  speech  of  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  in  which  he  gained  no  credit.  It  was  a  low 
piece  of  bar-room  talk  about  Church  and  State,  the 
Blue  Laws  of  Connecticut,  hanging  witches  in  Salem, 
etc.,  etc.  Mr.  F,,  in  a  short  reply,  made  Mr.  L.  rather 
ashamed  of  his  tirade."  Again,  under  date  of  May  16, 
"  Mr.  Frelinghuy sen's  discussion  of  the  Sabbath-mail 
Question  is  spoken  of  with  great  approbation  by  those 
who  heard  it.  His  reply  to  Mr.  Livingston  was  very 
happy.  Mr.  Hillhouse  [himself  a  member  of  the  Sen- 
ate from  1796  to  1810]  was  delighted  with  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuy sen's  argument."* 

The  failure  of  this  effort  to  guard  the  Sabbath  from 
profanation  under  the  forms  of  law  was  owing,  doubt- 
less, to  the  imperfect  degree  to  which  the  Christian 
sentiment  of  the  country  was  at  that  day  developed. 

*  Tracy's  Life  of  Evarts,  pp.  369,  371. 


IN  THE   SENATE.  77 

This  general  cause  was  aided  by  the  unwise  measures 
adopted  and  the  uncharitable  spirit  exhibited  by  some 
of  the  advocates  of  the  Sabbath,  and  also  by  the  art- 
ful manner  in  which,  the  movement  was  represented 
as  an  interference  with  the  rights  of  conscience  and  an 
insidious  attempt  to  unite  Church  and  State.  There 
can  be  but  little  doubt,  however,  that  the  agitation  of 
the  subject  in  the  halls  of  Congress  awakened  public 
attention  to  it,  elicited  the  interest  and  zeal  of  Chris- 
tians, and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  movements 
in  subsequent  years,  which,  beginning  at  a  different 
point,  and  operating  in  other  forms,  hayp  caused  a  re- 
duction of  Sunday-mail  service  to  an  amount  scarcely 
one  fourth  of  what  it  was  when  the  question  was  first 
mooted.  The  exact  influence  of  public  movements  is 
not  always  correctly  gauged  by  the  measure  of  imme- 
diate success  they  gain.  While  for  the  time  being  the 
enemies  of  religion  seemed  to  have  achieved  a  victo- 
ry in  the  matter  of  Sabbath  observance,  the  earnest, 
and  repeated,  and  thorough  discussions  of  the  subject 
through  the  press  and  on  the  platform  consolidated 
Christian  sentiment,  and  led,  in  the  end,  to  a  quiet  but 
very  great  revolution  in  the  tone  and  policy  of  the 
leaders  of  political  opinion  and  action. 

DAY   OF   FASTING  FOR  THE   CHOLERA. 

Early  in  the  year  1832  the  country  was  agitated  by 
reports  of  the  steady  progress  toward  this  country  of 
a  scourge  which,  originating  in  the  farthest  East,  had 
swept  over  Europe,  and  every  where  spread  destruc- 
tion and  dismay.  At  the  present  time,  repeated  vis- 
itations of  the  plague  have  made  us  familiar  with  its 


78  LIFE   OF   FEELINGHUYSEN. 

character  and  -witli  the  approjDriate  remedies.  But 
thirty  years  ago  the  terror  caused  by  its  ravages  was 
greatly  increased  by  its  novelty,  and  the  seeming  use- 
lessness  of  all  means  to  evade  or  resist  it.  Soon  after 
its  first  appearance  on  American  shores,  Mr.  Clay  of- 
fered in  the  Senate  a  joint  resolution,  in  which  both 
houses  of  Congress  recommended  the  President  to  ap- 
point a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  when 
the  nation  should  entreat  the  Most  High  to  avert 
from  our  country  the  Asiatic  scourge,  or,  if  he  allowed 
it  to  come,  to  mitigate  its  severity  and  shorten  its  du- 
ration. ^ 

In  supporting  this  resolution  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
said: 

"As  it  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  call  just  made  for 
the  yeas  and  nays  that  this  resolution  is  to  be  opposed, 
I  beg  leave  to  refer  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  the 
example  of  Congress  in  1812.  A  day  of  humiliation, 
fasting,  and  prayer  was  then  recommended  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Ee^^resenta- 
tives  because  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  which 
the  country  was  then  involved.  It  was  regarded  as 
one  of  those  seasons  of  public  calamity  in  which  it  be- 
came a  whole  people  to  acknowledge  their  dependence 
and  humble  themselves  before  God.  So  far  as  I  can 
learn  from  the  journals  of  the  day,  the  resolution  was 
adopted  without  opposition.  Now,  sir,  if  a  state  of 
war,  in  which  we  had  voluntarily  engaged,  was  a  fit 
occasion  to  call  forth  public  expressions  of  humiliation 
for  our  sins  and  to  invoke  the  merciful  providence  of 
God,  how  much  more  appropriately  does  it  become  us 
thus  to  feel  and  act  on  the  approach  of  a  pestilence 
that,  in  its  ravages  over  the  Old  World,  has  swept 
many  millions  of  our  fellow-men  into  eternity,  and 
which,  in  its  character  and  progress  through  the  earth, 


IN  THE   SENATE,  79 

seems  so  emphatically  to  be  the  instrument  of  Divine 
Providence,  beyond  the  influence  of  second  causes,  and 
especially  selected  to  accomplish  his  purposes,  and  to 
come  and  go  at  his  bidding, 

"I  hope,  sir,  that  the  present  resolution  will  meet 
with  no  serious  opposition.  It  surely  becomes  us  to 
acknowledge  our  dependence,  and  to  imj^lore  the  in- 
terposition of  God's  mercy  in  this  season  of  alarm. 
The  Constitution  can  present  no  obstacle,  for  this  is  not 
an  exercise  of  political  power.  It  is  far  beyond  the 
range  of  politics.  It  is  an  act  of  piety  to  God,  becom- 
ing_  the  whole  nation,  in  which  rulers  and  people  are 
invited  and  advised  to  bow  together  before  His  throne 
of  grace ;  and  there,  feeling  ourselves  to  be  in  like 
need,  to  unite  in  our  common  supplication  to  Him 
who  has  the  issues  of  life  and  death,  that  he  would  be 
pleased  to  spare  us  in  the  day  of  his  righteous  judg- 
ment. I  trust,  sir,  that  this  motion  will  receive  the 
same  decided  countenance  which  was  accorded  to  a 
similar  measure  in  the  late  war  and  on  many  occasions 
during  the  war  of  the  Eevolution." 

The  resolution  was  carried  in  the  Senate  by  a  large 
majority,  but  was  defeated  in  the  House.  The  policy 
implied  in  it  has,  however,  been  signally  reaffirmed  in 
later  years.  In  the  summer  of  1861  the  President 
was  requested,  by  a  unanimous  vote  in  both  houses 
of  Congress,  to  appoint  a  day  of  national  humiliation, 
in  view  of  the  perilous  crisis  of  the  country.  He 
made  such  an  appointment,  and  the  cordiality  and 
earnestness  with  which  it  was  observed  throughout 
the  loyal  states  was  without  precedent  in  our  pre- 
vious history. 

There  were  numerous  other  measures  in  the  discus- 
sion of  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  a  prominent 


80  LIFE   OF   FEELINGHUYSEN. 

part,  sucli  as  the  Pension  Bill,  tlie  President's  Protest, 
the  "  Force  Bill,"  the  Eemoval  of  the  Government  De- 
posits from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  the  Compro- 
mise Tariff,  etc. ;  but  it  would  needlessly  swell  the  size 
of  the  volume  to  enter  into  the  details  of  these  ques- 
tions, or  make  extracts  from  the  reported  speeches  of 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen. 

The  general  impression  made  by  him  on  his  sena- 
torial colleagues  is  well  expressed  in  the  words  of  two 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  their  number,  Daniel 
Webster  and  Henry  Clay. 

Mr.  Webster,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Baltimore  to  rat- 
ify the  Whig  nominations  in  1844,  expressed  himself 
thus: 

"With  regard  to  the  second  great  office  in  this 
country,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that,  from  among 
several  gentlemen,  all  of  them  my  friends,  and  to 
scarcely  one  of  them  could  a  preference  be  given  as 
respects  their  integrity  and  their  talents — fi'om  among 
them  a  selection  has  been  made  than  which  a  wiser 
and  better  could  not  have  been  made.  There  is  not  a 
man  of  purer  character,  of  more  sober  temperament, 
of  more  accessible  manners,  and  of  more  firm,  unbend- 
ing, uncompromising  Whig  principles,  than  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen ;  and  not  only  is  he  all  this,  but  such 
is  the  ease  of  his  manners,  such  the  spotless  purity  of 
his  life,  such  the  sterling  attributes  of  his  character, 
that  he  has  the  regard,  the  fervent  attachment,  and 
the  enduring  love  of  all  who  know  him." 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Clay  gave  his  views  in  a  pri- 
vate letter  to  the  late  John  P.  Jackson,  Esq.,  of  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  which  was  never  printed  until  after  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  death.     It  is  as  follows : 


IN  THE   SENATE.  81 

"  Ashland,  June  4th,  1844. 

"Dear  Sir, — I  received  your  letter  of  the  28th  ul- 
timo, and  am  very  happy  to  learn  that  the  Whig  nom- 
inations at  Baltimore  have  been  received  with  so  much 
enthusiasm  in  New  Jersey.  While  I  share  in  the 
common  regret,  among  Whigs,  that  so  many  good  and 
true  men,  who  had  high  and  just  pretensions  for  the 
office  of  Vice-President,  were  necessarily  put  aside, 
nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  and  gratifying  to  me 
than  the  association  of  Mr.Frelinghuysen's  name  with 
my  own.  I  have  long  and  intimately  known  that 
gentleman ;  and  no  man  stands  higher  in  my  estima- 
tion as  a  pure,  upright,  and  patriotic  citizen.  I  served 
with  him,  with  great  pleasure,  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  shall  never  forget  the  memorable 
session  of  1833-34.  He  always  seemed  self-poised, 
and  bore  himself  uniformly  with  great  ability  and  dig- 
nity. There  was  a  vein  of  benignity  and  piety  run- 
ning through  all  his  conduct  and  speeches  which  it 
was  refreshing  and  delightful  to  contemplate. 

"  Such,  my  dear  sir,  is  briefly  my  opinion  of  this 
most  worthy  and  excellent  man. 

"  I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  friend  and  obedient 
servant,         ■  H.  Clay. 

"John  P.  Jackson,  Esq." 

Both  of  these  eminent  men  were  of  the  same  party 
as  the  man  whom  they  eulogize.  But  political  oppo- 
nents bore  the  same  testimony.  General  Jackson,  who 
could  hardly  conceive  that  there  was  any  patriotism  in 
those  who  opposed  what  he  considered  the  true  pol- 
icy of  the  country,  never  questioned  the  integrity  of 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  He  said  that  the  senator  from 
New  Jersey  always  meant  well,  but  was  misguided  by 
the  political  leaders  with  whom  he  was  associated. 

When  the  Whig  nominations  were  made  in  1844, 
Messrs.  Lumpkin,  Dawson,  and  other  leading  men  from 
D2 


82  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Georgia  came  to  New  York,  and,  visiting  Mr.  Freling- 
liuysen,  expressed  a  very  warm  interest  in  the  success 
of  the  ticket,  on  his  personal  account  as  well  as  on 
other  grounds.  He  inquired  how  he  was  to  reconcile 
this  with  the  opposition  he  had  incurred  in  their  state 
by  his  course  on  the  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  In- 
dians. The  answer  was,  that  experience  had  satisfied 
them  that  he  was  right  and  they  were  wrong  in  that 
matter. 

To  these  testimonials  the  author  has  much  pleasure 
in  being  able  to  add  that  of  a  great  living  statesman, 
scholar,  and  patriot,  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  as 
contained  in  the  following  letter : 

"Boston,  July  8, 1862. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  much  regret  that  my  personal 
recollections  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  are  not  such  as  to 
enable  me  to  contribute  any  thing  of  importance  to 
your  proposed  Memoir.  He  entered  the  Senate  not 
long  after  I  became  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ;  but,  being  without  previous  acquaintance, 
and  both  of  us  much  occupied  with  our  respective  du- 
ties, I  saw  less  of  him  than  I  could  have  wished.  The 
distances  are  so  great  in  Washington  that  there  is  lit- 
tle intercourse  out  of  the  committee -room,  except 
among  members  who  happen  to  live  in  the  same  part 
of  the  city.  This  remark  does  not,  of  course,  apply  to 
the  active  electioneering  politicians,  who,  at  Washing- 
ton as  elsewhere,  possess  a  busy  ubiquity  ;  but  neither 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  nor  myself  were  of  that  class. 

"  What  I  know  of  him  is  principally  through  pub- 
lic channels  of  information.  He  brought  to  Washing- 
ton a  brilliant  reputation  as  a  public  speaker,  with  a 
character  for  unimpeachable  personal  integrity.  His 
reputation  and  character  were  fully  sustained  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.     He  took  but  little  part 


IN"  THE  SENATE.  83 

ill  the  current  daily  business  of  the  Senate ;  none  in 
the  fierce  personalities  sometimes  exchanged  between 
great  political  leaders ;  but  upon  a  few  prominent  ques- 
tions he  spoke  with  great  ability  and  effect.  There 
was  a  classical  finish  in  his  language,  and  a  certain 
sedate  fervor,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  in  his  language, 
which  commanded  the  attention  of  his  audience  to  a 
degree  seldom  surpassed.  As  he  spoke  but  rarely,  he 
was  always  listened  to  with  deference,  and  soon  took 
rank  with  the  foremost  members  of  the  body,  at  a  time 
when  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  contained  some 
of  the  brightest  names  in  our  political  history. 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  an  active  part  in  opposi- 
tion to  that  stupendous  iniquity,  the  expulsion  of  the 
Indians  from  Georgia,  and  the  division  of  their  lands 
by  lottery  among  the  people  of  the  state,  in  violation 
alike  of  the  dictates  of  justice  and  humanity,  and  of 
the  faith  of  seventeen  treaties  negotiated  with  them 
as  an  independent  race.  Having  myself,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  opposed  this  scandalous  measure  in  the 
other  house  of  Congress,  I  took  the  greater  interest  in 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  efforts  in  the  same  cause. 

"  I  have  alluded  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  unimpeach- 
ed  integrity.  It  was  not,  I  fear,  so  great  a  distinction 
then,  as  now,  to  be  above  pecuniary  corruption.  The 
member  of  either  house  of  Congress  who,  m  those 
days,  should  have  stipulated  for  a  commission  on  a 
government  contract,  or  had  stooped  to  the  mean  bro- 
kerage of  a  cadetship  at  West  Point  or  Annapolis, 
could  never  have  held  up  his  head  among  honest  men 
again.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  would  as  soon  have  gone 
upon  the  highway  as  he  would  have  been  guilty  of 
either  of  these  infamies. 

"Kenewing  the  expressions  of  my  regret  that  I  can 
offer  you  nothing  in  greater  detail,  I  remain,  my  dear 
sir,  very  truly  and  respectfully  yours, 

"  Edward  Everett." 

4- 


84  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

CHANCELLOR   OF  THE    UNIVERSITY  OF   THE    CITY  OF 

NEW  YORK. 

1839—1850. 

Return  to  his  Profession  at  Newark. — Call  to  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York. — Installation  as  Chancellor. — Success. — Pub- 
lic Usefulness. — Nomination  for  Vice-President. — Letter  of  Ac- 
ceptance.— The  Canvass. — Letter  to  Louisville. — Result,  and  the 
disappointment  it  then  caused. — Not  now  to  be  regretted. — Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  retires  from  the  University. — Letter  of  Dr.  Tayler 
Lewis. 

"When  Mr.  Frelingliuysen's  senatorial  term  expired 
in  March,  1835,  a  gentleman  of  opposite  political  opin- 
ions was  elected  to  succeed  him,  and  he  retired  to  pri- 
vate life,  from  which  he  did  not  again  emerge,  with 
one  notable  exception  presently  to  be  noticed.  He 
was  received  with  open  arms  by  his  fellow-citizens  in. 
Newark,  and  returned  with  undiminished  ardor  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  the  various  courts  of  the 
state. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  was  informed  in  March, 
1839,  that  he  had  been  unanimously  chosen  by  the 
Council  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York  to 
become  the  chancellor  of  that  institution.  The  Uni- 
versity, although  it  was  then  in  its  first  decade  of 
years,  had  achieved  a  high  position,  and  gave  promise 
of  eminent  usefulness,  but  was  encumbered  with  heavy 
pecuniary  embarrassments.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  felt 
that  this  appointment  deserved  very  sferious  consider- 


CHANCELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVEESITY.  85 

ation,  and  such  he  gave  to  it.  There  were  several 
circumstances  which  induced  him  to  regard  it  with 
favor.  His  large  and  exhausting  practice  made  a 
heavy  drain  upon  his  health,  and  sorely  tried  his 
nervous  system ;  he  felt  a  growing  repugnance  to  the 
sharp  antagonisms  incident  to  the  legal  profession ;  he 
was  assured  that  his  accession  to  the  chancellorship 
would  be  attended  with  such  an  increase  of  subscrip- 
tions to  the  funds  of  the  University  as  would  free  it 
from  the  burden  of  debt ;  and  he  anticipated  from  his 
residence  in  New  York  as  an  academic  executive  a 
wider  field  of  direct  and  immediate  usefulness  than  he 
occupied  at  the  New  Jersey  bar.  After  due  consulta- 
tion and  reflection,  he  accepted  the  appointment  ten- 
dered by  the  Council  of  the  University.  His  acces- 
sion to  the  post  was  hailed  with  general  joy  by  the 
Christian  public,  and  especially  by  that  large  class  of 
influential  persons  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  this 
important  seat  of  learning. 

He  soon  removed  his  residence  to  New  York,  and 
on  the  5th  day  of  June  was  formally  installed  with 
appropriate  ceremonies,  General  James  Talmage,  the 
President  of  the  Council,  delivering  an  address  on  be- 
half of  that  body,  and  the  chancellor-elect  following 
with  an  inaugural  speech,  in  which  he  indicated  with 
great  clearness  and  force  his  views  upon  the  impor- 
tant subject  of  collegiate  education.  He  at  once  en- 
tered upon  his  academic  duties  with  great  energy,  and 
soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  institution  re- 
lieved of  a  large  portion  of  the  indebtedness  by  which 
it  had,  from  the  beginning,  been  embarrassed,  while 
an  increasing  number  of  students  came  to  avail  them- 


86  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

selves  of  its  privileges.  He  gave  to  the  University 
not  only  the  prestige  of  bis  name  and  character  as  an 
eminent  Christian  statesman,  but  also  the  best  efforts 
of  his  mind  and  heart,  both  in  his  professorial  chair 
and  in  the  general  superintendence  which  devolved 
upon  him  as  the  head  of  the  faculty.  It  was  no  per- 
functory service  which  he  rendered,  but  the  conscien- 
tious devotion  of  all  his  powers  to  the  interests  of  the 
institution  and  of  the  j^oung  men  who  thronged  its 
marble  halls.  His  influence  upon  the  latter  was  of 
the  happiest  kind.  His  high  character,  his  personal 
dignity,  his  indubitable  integrity,  his  courtesy,  his  un- 
affected kindness  and  sympathy,  gave  to  his  instruc- 
tions and  counsels  a  force  which  was  irresistible.  The 
students  revered  and  loved  him.  They  could  not 
doubt  the  sincerity  of  his  desire  for  their  welfare ; 
they  knew  from  his  past  career  his  competency  to  ad- 
vise and  direct,  and  they  saw  in  his  daily  life  a  liv- 
ing illustration  and  exemplification  of  his  own  most 
cherished  principles  and  oft-repeated  inculcations. 

But  his  usefulness  while  residing  in  New  York  was 
not  confined  to  the  walls  of  the  University.  The 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  nation  was,  as  it  still  is, 
the  chief  seat  and  centre  of  the  great  religious  and 
philanthropic  associations,  which  reflect  so  much  lus- 
tre upon  our  age.  Of  one  or  two  of  these  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  was  the  president ;  of  several  he  was  a  direct- 
or or  manager ;  of  all  he  was  a  warm  friend  and  ad- 
vocate. And  no  small  demands  were  made  upon  his 
time  and  thoughts  in  aiding  the  accomplishment  of 
the  designs  for  which  they  had  b'een  formed.  Wheth- 
er it  was  to  contribute  to  funds,  or  to  counsel  in  dif- 


CHAXCELLOR   OF  THE    UNIVERSITY.  87 

ficult  matters,  or  to  address  a  public  meeting,  lie  held 
himself  in  readiness  to  do  what  in  him  lay  for  the 
cause  of  God  and  of  truth.  Nor  is  there  one  of  the 
national  societies  alluded  to  which  can  not  recall  sig- 
nal services  thus  rendered  by  the  Chancellor, 

While  thus  engaged,  he  and  many  of  his  friends 
were  surprised  by  his  nomination  as  a  candidate  for 
the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  on 
the  same  ticket  with  Henry  Clay,  by  the  Whig  Na- 
tional Convention  assembled  at  Baltimore  in  May, 
1844.  There  were  some  circumstances  connected  with 
this  nomination  which  rendered  it  very  complimenta- 
ry and  gratifying  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  The  Con- 
vention was  held,  it  may  be  said,  only  for  the  purpose 
of  selecting  a  candidate  for  this  office,  for  no  other 
name  than  Mr.  Clay's  was  even  thought  of  for  the 
presidency ;  and  when,  as  a  matter  of  form,  the  reso- 
lution presenting  him  for  the  position  was  read -in  the 
Convention,  it  was  scarcely  found  possible  to  proceed, 
the  acclamations  of  the  vast  throng  bursting  forth 
with  such  enthusiasm  and  persistency  at  every  men- 
tion of  the  great  man's  name  that  no  formal  yote 
could  be  taken.  The  entire  proceedings  in  reference 
to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  nomination  were  taken,  from 
first  to  last,  without  the  least  solicitation  or  sugges- 
tion, direct  or  indirect,  on  his  part.  He  had,  indeed, 
withdrawn,  as  he  supposed,  finally  from  political  life, 
nor  had  he  any  desire  to  re-enter  upon  that  troubled 
arena.  The  balloting  was  of  short  duration,  and  the 
final  result  attained  with  unusual  cordiality.  He  de- 
cidedly led  the  canvass  from  the  first  ballot ;  and  al- 
though such  eminent  statesmen  as  John  Davis,  of 


88  LIFE   OF  FRELIKGHUYSEN. 

Massachusetts,  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  and 
John  Sergeant,  of  Philadelpliia,  were  proposed  in  com- 
petition, on  the  third  ballot  he  received  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  votes,  whereupon  the  friends  of 
the  other  candidates  withdrew  their  names,  and  gave 
a  hearty  adhesion  to  the  choice  thus  indicated.  The 
nomination,  moreover,  associated  him  with  Henry 
Clay,  whose  views  of  public  policy  he  had  always 
approved,  and  with  whom  he  had  been  on  terms  of 
intimate  personal  friendship  for  very  many  years. 

He  therefore,  after  thoughtful  and  prayerful  con- 
sideration, accepted  the  position  in  a  letter  of  which 
the  following  is  the  text : 

"  New  York,  May  6, 1844. 

"Hon.  William  Ellsworth,  Chairman,  etc.: 
"Dear  Sir, — I  have  duly  received  your  favor  in- 
forming me  of  my  nomination  to  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  Whig  Conven- 
tion of  delegates,  at  Baltimore,  on  the  1st  instant.  To 
be  thus  distinguished  by  such  a  body  of  exalted  and 
patriotic  Whigs  is  an  honor  that  I  most  sensibly  feel. 
In  accepting  it,  I  can  only  promise  the  best  efforts  in 
some  humble  measure  to  justify  the  high  confidence 
reposed  in  me.  And  I  trust,  in  the  goodness  of  Di- 
vine Providence,  so  to  guide  my  steps  that  I  may  not 
disappoint  the  expectations  of  my  friends  or  do  harm 
to  the  interests  of  our  country. 

"Your  obedient  friend  and  servant, 

"  Theo,  Frelinghuysen." 

The  election  was  hotly  contested,  perhaps  as  much 
so  as  any  which  has  ever  been  held,  and  very  great 
excitement  prevailed  throughout  the  country.  The 
Democratic  party  naturally  wished  to  regain  the  pow- 
er of  which  they  had  been  deprived  in  1840,  and  the 


CHANCELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  89 

Whigs  were  anxious  to  secure  anew  a  victory,  tlie 
rightful  fruits  of  which,  when  won  at  the  preceding 
election,  they  deemed  themselves  to  have  lost  through 
the  early  death  of  President  Harrison.  The  tariff,  the 
currency,  the  use  of  the  public  lands,  and,  above  all, 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  were  questions  which  enter- 
ed into  the  contest  and  were  very  warmly  discussed. 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  however,  continued  in  the  quiet 
discharge  of  his  academic  duties,  and  took  a  very 
small  part  in  the  canvass.  On  two  occasions  he  made 
public  addresses :  one  when  the  meeting  assembled  in 
New  York  to  ratify  the  nominations  adjourned  to  his 
residence  and  called  him  out ;  the  other  some  months 
subsequently,  when  a  meeting  held  in  Somerville, 
while  he  was  visiting  his  relatives  in  that  village, 
made  a  similar  call  upon  him,  and,  being  composed 
mainly  of  his  old  friends  and  neighbors,  could  not  be 
refused.  The  only  letters  which  he  wrote  upon  polit- 
ical matters  were  two,  the  first  of  which  was  addressed 
to  the  Whig  State  Convention  at  Trenton  in  May,  and 
the  second  to  a  large  mass  meeting  gathered  at  Mill- 
stone, near  the  spot  where  he  was  born.  In  the  course 
of  the  summer  two  gentlemen  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  pro- 
pounded some  inquiries,  the  tenor  of  which  may  be 
gathered  from  his  answer  here  subjoined : 

"  New  York,  July  5, 1844._ 

"Gentlemen, — Your  favor  is  duly  received  and  its 
inquiries  are  cheerfully  answered.  Since  my  residence 
in  this  city  as  Chancellor  of  the  University,  I  have  felt 
it  to  be  my  duty  to  its  interest  to  retire  very  much 
from  party  politics,  excepting  so  far  as  the  sacred  right 
of  suffrage  was  concerned.  I  have  never  spoken  but 
in  decided  condemnation  of  the  mob  scenes  of  violence 


90  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

and  blood  in  Philadelphia,  and  have  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter  of  the  division  of  the  school  funds 
between  Catholics  and  Protestants  in  New  York.  In- 
deed, your  inquiry  is  the  first  intimation  I  have  had 
that  such  a  subject  has  been  agitated.  Allow  me  to 
say,  gentlemen,  in  the  general,  that  I  cherish  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  Constitution,  which  allow  full  freedom 
of  conscience  and  forbid  all  religious  tests  and  estab- 
lishments, as  sacred  and  fundamental. 
"Yours  very  respectfully, 

"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen. 

"  Messrs.  Heniy  Pirtlc  and  Geo.  D.  Prentice." 

It  has  always  been  customary  among  the  more  un- 
scrupulous politicians  of  our 'country  to  subject  the 
personal  and  private  character  of  any  candidate  for 
high  official  position  to  a  very  thorough  scrutiny,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  some  point  of  successful  attack. 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  did  not  escape  the  common  lot, 
but  he  could  defy  the  most  unsparing  ordeal.  There 
was  nothing  in  all  his  career,  from  the  earliest  period, 
which  needed  to  be  defended,  apologized  for,  or  even 
explained.  Nothing  unbecoming  a  man,  a  lawyer, 
a  legislator,  a  Christian,  was  ever  attributed  to  him. 
The  most  heated  partisan,  the  bitterest  opposers  of 
the  ticket,  with  one  voice  acknowledged  the  stain- 
less probity  of  the  Whig  candidate  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency, whatever  objection  they  might  feel  to  his  po- 
litical principles. 

The  election,  as  is  well  known,  resulted  in  the  suc- 
cess of  Messrs.  Polk  and  Dallas,  the  candidates  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  but  little 
disappointed  at  the  result.  Thoroughly  convinced  of 
the  correctness  of  his  political  views,  he  would  have 


CHANCELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  91 

been  glad  to  become  an  active  agent  in  carrying 
them  out,  especially  as  a  coadjutor  of  Henry  Clay,  in 
whose  ability,  integrity,  and  patriotism  he  cherished 
an  unshaken  confidence  to  the  end  of  his  days.  At 
the  same  time,  such  was  his  soundness  of  judgment, 
and  such  his  accurate  perception  of  the  surges  of  pop- 
ular opinion,  that  he  never  was  very  sanguine  of  suc- 
cess, and  was  therefore,  in  a  measure,  prepared  for  the 
ultimate  issue.  Even  the  night  before  the  day  which 
brought  the  determining  news  as  to  the  course  of  New 
York,  which  state  was  then  justly  considered  as  turn- 
ing the  scale  of  the  election,  when  his  Whig  friends, 
having  received  some  favorable  tidings,  gathered  be- 
fore the  University  to  congratulate  him  and  them- 
selves on  the  auspicious  issue,  he  reminded  them  that 
it  was  too  soon  to  rejoice,  and  besought  them  to  await 
the  complete  returns. 

When  those  returns  came  in  the  revulsion  of  feel- 
ing was  tremendous.  The  mass  of  the  Whig  party 
were  animated  not  only  by  a  deep  conviction  of  the 
importance  of  the  princij)les  which  they  held  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country,  but  also  by  a  strong  personal 
attachment  to  their  recognized  leaders,  especially  to 
Mr.  Clay,  who  was  remarkable  above  all  the  great 
men  whom  this  country  ever  produced  for  the  degree 
in  which  he  concentrated  upon  himself  as  a  man  the 
affections  of  those  who  shared  in  his  views  of  public 
policy.  Remembering  the  brilliant  victory  they  had 
achieved  at  the  preceding  presidential  election,  they 
cherished  confident  hopes  of  success  in  the  present 
struggle,  scarcely  allowing  themselves  to  think  of  fail- 
ure as  a  possible  thing.    Nor  did  they  spare  any  pains 


92  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

to  secure  the  falfillment  of  their  hopes,  but  labored 
with  enthusiasm  unto  the  last.  When  the  result  was 
announced,  it  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  out  of  a  cloudless 
sky.  Stalwart  men  were  moved  even  to  tears,  and 
multitudes  mourned  over  the  event  as  if  it  had  been 
the  loss  of  some  dear  relative.  This  was  particularly 
true  of  many  who  desired  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  elec- 
tion, not  only  because  of  their  personal  esteem  for 
him,  but  also  and  especially  because  they  desired  to 
see  a  high  official  station  adorned  by  a  man  who,  to 
all  other  qualifications,  added  that  of  an  eminently 
consistent  Christian  character. 

These  regrets,  however,  have  long  since  disappear- 
ed, not  simply  through  the  mellowing  influence  of 
time,  but  from  a  clearer  apprehension  of  the  connec- 
tion of  events.  Painful  and  mysterious  as  was  the 
defeat  of  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen  to  their  friends  at 
the  time  and  for  years  afterward,  subsequent  events 
have  lifted  the  veil,  and  enabled  calm,  practical  ob- 
servers to  see  the  finger  of  Eternal  Providence  in  that 
mortifying  discomfiture.  The  question  upon  which 
the  contest  really  turned  was  the  annexation  of  Tex- 
as— whether  this  large  province  of  Mexico,  wrested 
by  its  inhabitants  from  the  mother  country,  should  be 
added  to  the  United  States  at  the  risk  of  a  war  with 
Mexico,  and  of  introducing  under  the  protection  of 
the  federal  Constitution  an  immense  region  to  be  fill- 
ed with  a  slaveholding  population.  The  question 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative,  the  North  being  doubt- 
less led  by  the  lust  of  territorial  aggrandizement, 
which  is  always  dominant  in  young  and  growing  na- 
tions, and  the  South  by  the  hope  of  securing  addition- 


CHANCELLOK  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  93 

al  strength  for  the  domestic  institution  which  they 
had  come  to  consider  the  basis  of  their  civiHzation. 
At  first  both  seemed  to  be  gratified.  New  Mexico 
and  Cahfornia,  as  well  as  Texas,  contributed  to  swell 
the  imperial  dimensions  of  the  American  republic, 
and  the  South  felt  that  the  additional  strength  they 
had  gained  in  the  Senate  was  a  new  security  for  their 
cherished  interest.  But  soon  California  knocked  at 
the  door  of  the  Union  for  admission  as  a  state,  and 
the  question  at  once  arose  whether  she  should  be  ad- 
mitted with  or  without  a  provision  against  involunta- 
ry servitude.  A  fierce  conflict  was  finally  settled  by 
compromise.  But  the  fire  still  slumbered  under  the 
ashes,  and  a  few  years  later  the  same  question  arose  in 
reference  to  Kansas  and  all  the  other  Territories.  The 
issues  became  more  clearly  joined  and  more  virulent- 
ly contested,  until  at  last  ambitious  leaders  succeeded 
in  inducing  ten  states  of  the  Union  to  secede  from  the 
government  and  set  up  a  new  republic,  the  corner- 
stone of  which  was  publicly  declared  by  its  vice-pres- 
ident to  be  the  perpetuation  of  African  slavery.  The 
war  which  then  ensued  is  still  pending,  and  it  is  quite 
too  early  for  the  shrewdest  observer  to  predict  the 
final  issue.  But  all  unbiased  men  agree  that  one  re- 
suit  is  certain  in  any  event,  and  that  is  the  overthrow 
of  African  slavery.  Its  days  on  this  continent  are 
numbered.  The  mere  friction  of  the  war,  if  there 
were  nothing  else,  must  insure  its  disappearance.  Its 
own  friends  have  wrought  its  ruin.  Had  they  been 
content  to  rely  upon  existing  guarantees  of  safety,  it 
might  have  continued  indefinitely^  But,  dissatisfied 
with  these,  they  insisted  upon  other  measures,  and 


94  LIFE  OF  FKELIKGHUYSEN. 

hence  lias  followed  what  we  now  see.  The  first  one 
of  these  measures  was  the  annexation  of  Texas ;  and 
they  who  once  mourned  that  event  as  a  great  politi- 
cal disaster,  may  now  admire  the  Providence  of  God, 
which,  in  his  inscrutable  wisdom,  made  that  the  initial 
step  of  a  series  by  which  the  nation  was  to  be  gradu- 
ally but  surely  led  forever  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

After  the  campaign,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  continued 
in  the  discharge  of  his  academic  duties,  but  not  alto- 
gether with  the  same  comfort  as  formerly.  A  severe 
attack  of  acute  illness  not  only  laid  him  wholly  aside 
for  several  weeks,  but  left  him  in  an  enfeebled  condi- 
tion, with  disordered  nerves.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, the  abundant  hospitality  which  his  situation, 
as  well  as  his  nature,  prompted  him  to  exercise,  be- 
came somewhat  of  a  trial.  The  finances  of  the  Uni- 
versity too,  being  hampered  by  the  withdrawal,  first 
of  a  part,  then  of  the  whole  of  the  grant  annually 
made  by  the  state,  imposed  an  embarrassing  burden 
upon  the  head  of  the  institution.  Mr.  Frelinghuj'sen 
began  now  to  feel  something  of  the  weight  of  advanc- 
ing years,  and  the  thought  more  than  once  occurred 
to  his  mind  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  seek 
some  other  position,  where  the  duties  would  not  be  so 
arduous,  and  where  he  could  escape  the  excitements 
and  engagements  of  the  metropolis.  In  the  kind 
providence  of  God,  such  a  relief  was  opened  to  him, 
without  any  effort  on  his  part,  by  an  invitation  from 
a  literary  institution  in  a  neighboring  city,  wbich, 
while  withdrawing  him  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of 
New  York,  yet  offered  a  continuation  of  what  he  al- 


CHANCELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  Q5 

wajs  felt  to  be  the  useful  and  congenial  "work  of  di- 
recting the  studies  and  moulding  the  characters  of 
young  men  in  the  course  of  a  liberal  education.  He 
therefore  resigned  his  position  as  Chancellor  in  the 
summer  of  the  year  1850. 

From  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  his  associates 
in  the  literary  faculty  of  the  University,  Professor 
Tayler  Lewis,  LL.D.,  the  author  has  had  the  pleasure 
of  receiving  the  following  letter,  containing  some  ac- 
count of  his  career  in  this  trying  and  responsible  po- 
sition : 

"Union  College,  Schenectady,  September  24,1862. 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  can  best  give  you  my  thoughts 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  by  relating  three  phases  of  my 
experience  in  respect  to  him.  It  is  now  more  than 
thirty  years  since  he  first  excited  my  admiration  by 
his  course  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  especial- 
ly his  speeches  on  the  important  questions  that  then 
arose  respecting  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  the  obedi- 
ence due  to  the  decisions  of  the  United  States  courts. 
It  is  now  known  that  the  party  since  so  clamorous 
about  the  soundness  of  judicial  decisions  was  then  in 
a  state  of  direct  hostility  to  the  decrees  of  Marshall 
and  Story — not  merely,  while  obeying  them,  seeking 
their  reversal  by  constitutional  means,  which  is  the 
political  right,  and  may  be  the  duty  of  the  most  con-' 
servative  citizen,  but  bidding  them  direct  defiance,  en- 
couraging the  President  in  his  refusal  to  execute  their 
issued  process — in  other  words,  nullifying  them  both 
in  the  letter  and  the  spirit.  In  his  speeches  on  these 
occasions,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  showed  a  knowledge  of 
constitutional  law  equal  to  that  of  Webster ;  but  that 
was  the  least  part  of  their  merit.  The  Democratic 
party  had  enlisted  on  its  side  the  irreligious  element 
in  our  land,  and  it  was  in  rebuking  this  that  the  sen- 


96  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

ator  from  New  Jersey  rose  above  all  others  in  that 
deeply  interesting  debate.  Here  was  something  new 
in  that  Senate.  Christianity  had  been  often  mention- 
ed with  approbation,  but  here  was  an  exhibition  of  its 
very  spirit  and  powers.  There  was  something  in  the 
tone  of  those  speeches,  able  as  they  were  in  other  re- 
spects, which  showed  that  religion  was  there  in  their 
midst — hearty,  fervent,  evangelical  religion — religion 
as  a  higher  law,  first  and  before  all  things,  instead  of 
that  mere  political  patronizing  of  Christianity  which 
is  so  common  among  our  public  men.  It  is  very  easy 
to  put  forth  the  usual  commonplaces  about  '  our  holy 
religion,'  and  the  value  of  Christian  institutions,  and 
the  '  importance  of  morality  and  virtue  as  the  founda- 
tion of  all  good  government.'  Men  may  say  this,  men 
have  said  it,  and  are  fond  of  saying  it,  who  are  not  re- 
ligious, who  are  not  even  moral.  It  is  always  safe 
to  talk  in  this  way ;  it  is  sometimes  a  very  popular 
course ;  it  gains  favor  on  the  one  side,  while,  by  throw- 
ing in  a  word  now  and  then  about  bigotry,  and  the 
'  preservation  of  our  religious  liberties'  now  so  much 
imperiled,  it  is  careful  to  lose  no  ground  on  the  other. 
This  patronizing  style  assumes  too,  at  times,  a  pro- 
found and  philosophical  look ;  it  affects  to  go  below 
the  surface  of  things ;  there  seems  presented  a  states- 
manlike, senatorial  view  of  religion,  with  which  we  are 
wonderfully  pleased  as  coming  from  such  a  source; 
and  yet,  after  all,  there  is  no  heart  in  it,  and  even  the 
knowledge  it  displays,  though  magnified  from  its  po- 
sition, is  often  less  than  many  a  teacher  imparts,  and 
many  a  child  acquires,  in  the  Sabbath-school  room. 

"No  one,  however,  would  thus  judge  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen.  The  living  know  the  living.  '  The  spiritual 
man  is  judged  of  no  one  (who  is  not  spiritual),  while 
he  himself  judgeth  all  things.'  But,  aside  from  this, 
even  the  worldly  and  the  irreligious  have  a  faculty  for 
detecting  the  genuine  here.  They  feel  how  much  it 
differs  from  that  which  is  either  wholly  false,  or  but 


CHAl^CELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  97 

a  passing  sentimental  emotion.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
soul  was  in  these  speeches.  He  was  pleading  for 
Christ  his  Savior.  The  religious  aspects  of  the  ques- 
tions were  to  him  the  main  aspects ;  the  social  and 
political  had  their  value  in  subordination.  Justice, 
humanity,  national  faith— ever  to  be  esteemed  the 
stronger  when  pledged  to  the  weak — the  forms  of 
treaties,  the  substantial  truth  of  covenants — all  these 
were  treated,  not  merely  in  their  humanitarian  econo- 
mies, but  as  strictly  religious — as  having  their  sanc- 
tions from  their  never-to-be-sundered  connection  with 
the  invisible  and  the  eternal. 

"It  was,  indeed,  a  noble  effort,  characterized,  too, by 
the  highest  eloquence  of  thought  and  language.  The 
next  thing  I  read  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  was  an  ad- 
dress before  one  of  the  national  religious  societies  in 
New  York.  It  was  a  very  different  theatre,  but  the 
same  man  unchanged  in  thought  and  utterance.  Here, 
too,  the  mere  politician  has,  now  and  then,  put  forth 
his  patronizing  platitudes ;  but  here  was  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  especially  at  home — more  at  home  than  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Never  did  the  union 
of  those  two  characters,  the  statesman  and  the  Chris- 
tian, seem  so  perfect.  The  man  who  had  enchained 
the  attention  of  the  highest  political  audience  now 
pleads  the  cause  of  missions  and  of  Bible  distribution 
with  the  soul  of  a  martyr.  It  was  no  mere  talk  about 
the  political  economies  of  religion,  the  'patriotism  of 
Christianity,'  its  statistical  and  commercial  benefits; 
it  was  no  gracious  presentation  of  thanks  on  the  part 
of  the  State  for  the  Church's  good  conduct,  and  its 
excellent  police  aid  in  the  preservation  of  order  and 
property;  it  was  no  mere  harangue  on  the  physical 
or  secular  good  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  duty  of  all  re- 
spectable people  to  respect  it  on  that  account ;  it  was 
no  empty  laudation  of  missions  and  missionaries  as 
the  pioneers  of  civilization — its  subject  was  none  of 
these,  except  as  lying  far  below  in  the  scale  of  subor- 

E 


98  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

dination,  but  '  life,  life,  eternal  life'  for  perishing  men 
and  a  perishing  world.  Instead  of  such  cold  secular- 
ities,  his  whole  soul  was  on  fire  with  the  intensest  spir- 
itualities of  the  Christian  argument.  The  union  of 
the  two  characters  was  delightful.  It  raised  my  ad- 
miration of  the  man  to  the  highest  pitch.  I  read  with 
eagerness  every  thing  that  fell  from  his  mouth  on  ev- 
ery occasion,  secular  or  religious.  And  this  may  be 
called  my  first  phase  of  experience. 

"  In  the  year  1839  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  appoint- 
ed Chancellor  of  the  New  York  University.  I  had 
been  connected  with  the  institution  a  few  months  be- 
fore. It  need  not  be  said  how  strong  was  the  interest 
felt  at  the  thought  of  being  associated  with  such  a 
man.  Nor  was  the  first  meeting  a  disappointment. 
The  personal  appearance  was  noble,  commanding, 
equal  to  any  thing  that  had  been  imagined  respecting 
it.  The  inaugural  address  was  worthy  of  the  speak- 
er's high  reputation.  But  when  we  entered  upon  the 
daily  routine  of  college  life  and  discipline,  I  must  con- 
fess some  change  of  feeling.  This  man,  who,  I  thought, 
would  fill  me  with  awe  and  reverence,  was  found  to 
have  his  humanities,  and  close  contact  sometimes 
brought  them  out  unpleasantly.  We  had  expected 
one  who  would  take  the  lead  commandingly,  and  un- 
der whose  influence  the  institution  would  immediate- 
ly take  the  highest  rank.  Such  an  expectation  was, 
of  course,  unreasonable.  Colleges  are  of  slow  growth. 
We  ought  to  know  that  this  would  be  the  case  in  our 
own  country,  when  we  remember  that  the  universi- 
ties of  the  Old  World  are  the  production  of  centuries. 
True  education  can  not  be  accelerated  by  outward 
forcing,  or  by  calling  to  its  patronage  the  highest  in- 
fluence of  great  names.  There  was  no  disappointment 
in  regard  to  his  public  efforts ;  but  it  is  to  his  private 
intercourse  with  us  that  I  have  now  chiefly  reference. 
This  was,  indeed,  of  the  most  pleasant  kind,  viewed 
merely  in  its  social  aspects.     Never  shall  I  forget  the 


CHANCELLOR  OF   THE   UNIVERSITY.  99 

beautiful  harmony  of  our  faculty  meetings  as  they 
were  weekly  held  for  nearly  eleven  years.  We  were 
of  various  denominations  in  religion.  There  was  Dr. 
C.  F.  Henry,  a  profound  thinker,  an  admirable  writer, 
a  noble  man  in  every  way,  but  a  churchman  of  tower- 
ing altitude,  even  as  his  eloquent  appeals  now  place 
him  in  the  front  rank  for  loyalty  and  patriotism. 
There  was  Professor  Johnson,  a  man  of  the  most  pre- 
cise New  Englandism,  but  whose  Latin  and  German 
scholarship  are  unsurpassed  in  our  country.  There 
was  Professor  Draper,  of  European  celebrity ;  Nord- 
heimer,  the  distinguished  Orientalist,  and  '  an  Israelite 
truly  in  whom  there  was  no  guile.'  There  was  Pres- 
byterian, Episcopalian,  Dutch  Eeformed,  Unitarian, 
Free-thinking  (I  use  the  term  in  no  offensive  sense). 
Old  School,  and  Kew  School ;  but  in  our  weekly 
meetings  there  was  the  most  perfect  brotherhood  of 
thought  and  action,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  presided  so 
kindly,  so  genially,  that  there  could  be  nothing  sec- 
tional or  sectarian  in  his  presence.  We  all  had  our 
isms  in  theology,  in  philosophy,  and  even  in  peda- 
gogy ;  but  in  our  stated  college  associations  there  was 
the  most  perfect  catholicity.  Though  formal  to  some 
extent  in  mode,  they  were  wholly  informal  and  so- 
cial in  their  spirit.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  fond  of 
treating  things  in  a  familiar,  conversational  manner, 
though  no  one  could  be  more  impressively  dignified 
when  the  occasion  demanded  it.  He  had  a  touch  of 
humor,  quite  a  fund  of  anecdote,  and,  in  a  word,  that 
easy  sociability,  such  a  well-known  trait  of  gentlemen 
of  the  bar,  and  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  brought  with 
him  from  his  long  practice  in  the  courts  of  New  Jer- 
sey. All  this  was  very  pleasant,  but  still  not  in  exact 
accordance  with  my  high  expectations.  It  was  not 
the  commanding  character  imagination  had  pictured. 
I  would  not  retract  the  word  already  used ;  it  was,  in- 
deed, a  fault  in  this  great  man  and  this  pure  Chris- 
tian that  he  had  a  way  of  so  constantly  deferring  to 


100  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

others.  It  was  the  carrying  to  excess  the  apostle's 
precept:  'Let  each  man  esteem  others  better  than 
himself.'  There  were  times  when  he  would  rise,  and 
we  saw  before  us  the  man  who  had  commanded  the 
United  States  Senate ;  but  he  was  not  now  with  poli- 
ticians and  corrupt  party  schemers,  and  amid  scenes 
that  would  arouse  the  eloquence  of  his  indignant  re- 
buke. Surrounded  by  a  small  company  of  literary 
men  and  teachers,  he  sat  in  our  midst  as  2^'>'i'>niis  inter 
pares,  or,  rather,  as  one  who  sought  to  learn  from  others 
rather  than  command,  and  who  would  substitute  their 
professional  knowledge  for  his  own  wide  and  cath- 
olic experience.  In  other  things,  too,  there  was  that 
about  him  which  disturbed  the  too  enthusiastic  pre- 
judgment. How  strong  must  this  man  be  in  Cnris- 
tian  faith,  I  used  to  think !  What  a  privilege  to  lean 
upon  his  steady  arm,  to  have  the  benefit  of  his  Chris- 
tian counsels  and  Christian  experience !  Here  was,  at 
first,  what  must  be  acknowledged  as  a  disappointment. 
He  was  fond  of  religious  conversation,  and  frequently 
drew  one  or  the  other  of  us  into  it  in  the  most  famil- 
iar way.  Often  was  it  my  privilege  thus  to  converse 
with  him,  sometimes  in  his  own  scholastic  apartment, 
sometimes  sharing  his  long  daily  walk,  and,  on  a  few 
occasions,  in  his  chamber  of  sickness.  He  imparted 
strength,  but  not  in  the  way  I  had  expected.  He  was 
an  admirable  illustration  of  the  apostle's  paradox : 
'  When  he  was  weak,  then  was  he  strong;'  and  'out  of 
his  weakness'  were  made  strong  those  who  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  this  blessed  Christian  intercommunion. 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  had  difficulties  in  his  religious  life, 
in  his  personal  experience,  and  he  would  freely  tell 
them.  His  whole  soul  was  in  the  pilgrimage  to  the 
New  Jerusalem.  Still,  he  was  but  a  ^seeker  of  salva- 
tion.'' This  was  ever  the  form  of  his  thought  and  the 
spirit  of  his  language.  He  hardly  dared  to  take  to 
himself  any  other  title.  Of  course,  there  was  no  al- 
lusion to  the  services  he  had  rendered  the  cause  of 


CHAIs^CELLOR  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY.  101 

Christ.  He  did  not  think  of  them.  His  mind  was 
ever  upon  his  demerits,  his  deficiencies.  It  was  no 
mock  humility.  The  prayer  of  the  publican  was  ever 
in  his  heart  and  often  upon  his  lips.  He  was  contin- 
ually asking  others  about  their  experience,  their  diffi- 
culties, the  comforts  and  grounds  of  their  faith.  This 
was  not  for  the  obtaining  comparative  confidence,  but 
because  his  true  Christian  soul  loved  thus  to  commune 
with  others  whom  he  esteemed  as  Christians,  and  to 
regard  himself  and  them  as  a  company  of  earth- weary, 
heaven-seeking  pilgrims,  marching  hand  in  hand,  and 
mutually  holding  each  other  up  through  'sloughs  of 
despondency'  and  over  'hills  of  difficulty,'  and  in  evil- 
haunted  vales  of  temptation,  until  at  last  the  heaven- 
ly land  is_  reached  by  all,  the  weakest  as  well  as  the 
strongest  in  the  band. 

"I  have  endeavored  to  give  you  my  exact  impres- 
sion of  the  man, — an  impression  I  would  not  now  ex- 
change for  any  former  ideal  of  the  statesman.  The 
habit  I  have  mentioned  of  his  continual  deference  to 
others  was  a  hind^rance  to  his  literary  success ;  it  pre- 
vented his  having  that  commanding  influence  he  might 
have  exercised,  and  should  have  exercised  on  the  fac- 
ulty and  the  college,  and  therefore  it  was  that  the  first 
contact  with  these  failures  of  character,  if  I  may  so 
call  them,  produced  disappointment.  He  fell  in  rever- 
ence, while  he  rose  in  love;  and  this  is  what  I  may 
call  my  second  phase  of  experience  respecting  him. 

"  Still,  the  man  of  power  was  there ;  the  man  of  el- 
oquence ;  the  believing  soul,  large  and  loving.  As  a 
Christian,  he  must,  of  course,  be  humble,  but  I  had  not 
looked  for  such  a  palpable  exhibition  of  it.  This  feel- 
ing of  disappointment  was  not  of  long  continuance. 
It  seerns  now,  however,  that  it  was  necessary  to  a  just 
appreciation  of  just  such  a  character.  I  should  never 
have  known  how  true  a  Christian  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
was  had  there  been  nothing  but  the  first  knowledge 
of  him  as  a  senator  and  a  Christian  oratoj;;.     It  was 


102  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

necessary  to  see  liow  very  human  he  was  in  some  re- 
spects, if  we  would  see  the  beauty  of  that  divine  life 
which  shone  through  this  humanity  so  conscious  of 
its  weakness,  so  ever  seeking  help  even  from  others 
who  needed  for  themselves  his  wiser  and  stronger 
guidance.  This  was  the  third  phase  of  the  writer's 
experience  respecting  him.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  a 
great  man,  a  statesman,  an  orator  seldom  surpassed  at 
the  bar  or  in  the  Senate.  He  was  a  Christian  man, 
hearty  and  true.  He  was  a  very  humble  Christian 
man,  and  in  this  lies  the  very  essence  of  his  greatness 
and  his  strength. 

"  Yours  truly,  Tayler  Lewis. 

"Rev.  T.W.  Chambers, D.D." 


PRESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE.     103 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PRESIDENT   OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE. 
1850—1862. 

Early  History  of  the  Institution. — Inauguration  of  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen. — Growth  of  the  College. — The  President's  Diligence. — Letter 
from  Dr.  Crosby. — Death  of  the  first  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen. — Bacca- 
laureate Addresses. — Useful  to  the  End. — Death. — Funeral. 

The  old  literary  institution  at  New  Brunswick  was 
established  by  a  charter  from  Greorge  III.  in  1770,  and 
was  styled  Queen's  College.  This  charter  was  ob- 
tained and  the  college  founded  by  the  prayers  and 
efforts  of  the  earlier  Frelinghuysens  and  Harden- 
berghs.  It  passed  through  many  severe  trials,  and 
sometimes  suffered  a  total  suspension  of  service ;  but 
its  friends  persevered,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
a  complete  and  permanent  revival  of  the  institution 
in  the  year  1825,  under  the  name  of  Rutgers  College, 
when  it  entered  upon  a  career  of  growing  prosperity 
and  usefulness.  The  first  president  of  the  revived  in- 
stitution was  the  learned  and  eloquent  Dr.  Milledoler, 
who  at  the  same  time  held  the  chair  of  theology  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Protestant 
Dutch  Church.  Dr.  Milledoler  withdrew  from  his  po- 
sition in  the  year  1841,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Hon.  A.  B.  Hasbrouck,  LL.D.,  of  Kingston,  N.  Y., 
who  had  achieved  distinction  at  the  bar  and  in  Con- 
gress, and  who,  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  presided  over 
the  college  with  great  dignity,  eflaciency,  and  success. 


104  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

At  the  end  of  that  time  domestic  circumstances  in- 
duced Dr.  Hasbrouck  to  resign  his  office  and  devote 
himself  to  his  private  affairs. 

In  looking  for  a  gentleman  to  fill  the  responsible 
position  thus  vacated,  it  was  natural  for  the  trustees 
to  turn  their  eyes  toward  the  honored  son  of  New 
Jersey,  whose  heart  still  beat  so  warmly  toward  his 
native  state,  whose  earliest  associations  connected  him 
with  the  institution  at  New  Brunswick,  and  whose 
personal  gifts  and  attainments  had  now  been  matured 
by  many  years'  experience  in  academic  instruction 
and  government.  They  unanimously  invited  him  to 
become  their  president.  After  seeking,  according  to 
his  invariable  custom,  the  Divine  direction,  he  cheer- 
fully accepted  the  appointment,  and  removed  his  res- 
idence to  New  Brunswick — the  last  remove  he  was 
destined  to  make  on  earth.  At  the  annual  Commence- 
ment, July  24th,  1850,  he  was  formally  inducted  into 
office.  His  Excellency  Daniel  Haines,  the  governor 
of  the  state,  acting  in  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
introduced  the  president  elect  to  the  audience  in  a 
short  and  graceful  speech.  The  venerable  Dr.  Can- 
non, the  oldest  member  of  the  board,  then  welcomed 
the  new  ofl&cer  to  his  position  with  fitly  chosen  words, 
which,  spoken  with  the  fire  of  youth,  thrilled  through 
the  assembly,  and  gave  just  expression  to  the  enthusi- 
astic cordiality  with  which  the  accession  of  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  was  regarded  by  the  authorities  and  friends 
of  the  college.  The  exercises  were  closed  by  an  in- 
augural address  of  the  president,  abounding  with  per- 
tinent and  instructive  suggestions  respecting  the  true 
aims  of  a  collegiate  education.     The  concluding  para- 


PRESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE.      105 

graphs,  containing  a  toucliing  reference  to  his  own 
feelings  in  view  of  his  return  to  the  scenes  of  his 
childhood,  are  here  extracted : 

"  If  I  may  be  allowed  a  single  personal  allusion,  it 
is  matter  of  grateful  interest  that  the  revolutions  of 
time  have  conducted  my  footsteps,  in  the  evening  of 
life's  pilgrimage,  to  the  cherished  spot  where  its  morn- 
ing began ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  the  desolations 
of  the  past — and  they  are  many  and  sad — a  benignant 
Providence  permits  to-day  the  recognition  of  many 
living  names  whose  early  recollections  harmonize  with 
my  own. 

"And  now  may  He  whose  blessing  maketh  rich, 
grant  his  constant  favor  that  our  college  may  con- 
tinue to  send  forth  a  hallowed  influence ;  that  its  sons 
may  illustrate  its  fame  by  the  light  of  a  pure  and  up- 
right example;  and  that,  whatever  else  may  befall 
them  in  a  world  of  affliction  and  chafige,  no  one  of 
them  may  be  permitted,  by  the  perversion  of  his  pow- 
ers, to  impair  the  foundations  of  truth,  or  give  counte- 
nance to  the  enemies  of  virtue." 

Here  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  continued  to  the  end  of 
his  life,  surrounded  by  the  friends  of  his  youth,  and 
happy  in  the  service  of  an  institution  endeared  to  him 
by  precious  ancestral  recollections.  The  favorable 
auspices  under  which  he  began  his  administration  of 
its  affairs  were  fully  confirmed  by  the  result.  The 
old  friends  of  the  college  engaged  with  fresh  zeal  in 
its  behalf,  and  many  new  ones  were  enlisted.  The 
number  of  the  students  began  at  once  to  increase. 
The  endowment  funds  were  considerably  augmented. 
The  course  of  study  became,  in  time,  greatly  enlarged. 
Valuable  additions  were  made  to  the  corps  of  profess- 
ors. Pecuniary  embarrassments  were  removed ;  phil- 
E2 


106  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

osophical  and  other  apparatus  was  abundantly  pro- 
vided ;  and  the  institution,  always  respectable  for  its 
age,  and  history,  and  character,  attained  a  still  higher 
reputation  at  home  and  abroad. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  connection  with  it  was  far  from 
being  nominal.  Notwithstanding  his  approach  to  the 
allotted  term  of  human  life,  he  entered  into  his  work 
with  conscientious  fidelity  and  energy,  carefully  elab- 
orating the  special  duties  of  his  own  department,  and 
conducting  the  discipline  of  the  institution  with  a 
gentleness,  firmness,  and  impartiality  which  secured 
the  happiest  results.  To  the  customary  care  of  the 
mental  progress  of  the  students  he  added  a  parental 
concern  for  their  moral  and  Christian  advancement, 
for  which  many  will  have  reason  to  thank  him  as 
long  as  they  Iwe.  On  this  point  the  author  is  happy 
to  present  the  following  testimony  of  one  who  had 
rare  opportunities  of  forming  an  intelligent  opinion, 
the  Eev.  Dr.  Crosby : 

"New  Brunswick,  August  14, 1862. 

"  Eev.  Talbot  W.  Chambers,  D.D.  : 
"Dear  Sir, — It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  comply 
with  your  request,  and  record  my  impressions  of  the 
late  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  in  his  official  capacity  as  the 
presiding  officer  of  a  college,  not  only  from  my  desire 
to  contribute  what  I  can  to  the  general  good  in  the 
exhibition  of  so  bright  a  character,  but  also  from  a 
grateful  sense  of  the  benefits  which  I  personally  re- 
ceived from  the  official  influence  of  the  illustrious  de- 
ceased. I  had  the  good  fortune  to  witness  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's administration  of  a  college  presidency 
from  two  distinct  points  of  view,  having  been  four 
years  a  student  at  the  University  of  New  York  when 
he   occupied  its   chancellorship,  and  having,  fifteen 


PEESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE.      107 

years  thereafter,  become  his  colleague  in  the  faculty 
of  Eutgers  College,  where  I  enjoyed  his  intimacy  three 
years  until  his  death.  Students  uniformly  loved  and 
respected  him.  They  knew  he  was  their  fast  friend, 
and  they  also  knew  that  his  conduct  was  actuated  by 
the  purest  and  most  exalted  motives.  Such  a  knowl- 
edge, of  course,  was  accompanied  by  the  fullest  confi- 
dence, so  that,  however  disappointed  a  student  was 
made  by  the  chancellor's  denial  of  his  request,  the 
disappointment  was  never  followed  by  a  revengeful 
or  rebellious  spirit.  I  well  recollect  how,  at  my  first 
admission  to  the  Freshman  class,  I  apjolied  to  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  for  a  dispensation  from  the  exercise  of 
public  speaking.  I  promised  double  exertion  in  every 
other  department  if  I  could  only  be  excused  in  this 
one.  His  reply  was  gentle  in  tone  and  manner,  and 
yet  a  firm  denial.  He  used  the  affectionate  phrase 
'my  son,'  and  assured  me  that  no  better  opportunity 
would  ever  be  offered  me  for  the  removal  of  my  difii- 
dence,  and  for  the  attainment  of  ease  and  readiness  in 
oratory.  I  ventured  once  after  this  to  renew  my  re- 
quest, and  received  the  same  answer,  with  a  similar 
manifestation  of  regard  for  my  welfare.  Instead  of  re- 
pelling me,  these  interviews  won  my  heart,  and  I  felt 
ready  from  that  time  to  meet  his  'my  son'  with  a  re- 
sponsive '  my  father.'  Four  years  after,  when  I  de- 
livered an  oration  in  the  University  that  possessed 
some  merit,  the  chancellor  came  down  from  the  rostra 
and  greeted  me  warmly,  saying,  with  clear  memory 
of  the  interviews  at  my  entrance  upon  college  life, 
'Are  you  not  satisfied  now  that  I  did  right  in  refusing 
you  exemption  from  oratorical  duties  when  you  were 
a  Freshman?' 

"The  respect  which  the  students  entertained  for 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  always  a  guarantee  of  orderly 
behavior  and  attention  in  his  class-room,  so  that  sever- 
ity was  never  needed,  and  he  was  relieved  from  the 
use  of  methods  from  which  his  mild  nature  would 


108  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

have  slirunk,  while  their  love  for  the  chancellor  often 
assumed  the  form  of  enthusiasm  which  gave  vigor 
even  to  sluggish  minds. 

"  In  Kutgers  College  I  noticed  these  same  marks  of 
Mr.Frelinghuysen's  relations  to  the  students,  although 
they  were  somewhat  modified  by  his  advanced  age. 
His  intercourse  with  his  colleagues  was  marked  by 
modesty,  simplicity,  and  gentleness,  and  whenever  he 
differed  with  them  in  the  details  of  discipline,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  the  kindly  sympathies  of  his  heart  lay 
at  the  bottom  of  the  diflerence. 

Conspicuously,  through  all  the  attributes  of  his  char- 
acter, shone  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  Christian  faith  and 
devotion.  No  one  could  spend  a  day  in  his  company 
without  being  impressed  with  his  zeal  in  the  Master's 
service.  His  colleagues  saw  that  the  love  of  Christ 
was  the  constraining  principle  of  his  life,  and  it  was 
this  consistent  Christian  example  which  rendered  his 
influence  over  the  young  so  precious,  and  to  which  an 
army  of  men  of  young  and  middle  years  now  grate- 
fully yield  their  testimony,  as  they  feel  that  his  char- 
acter and  counsels  saved  them  from  ruin,  and  guided 
their  feet  in  the  path  cf  uprightness  and  Christian 
truth. 

He  took  especial  delight  in  addressing  the  four 
classes  on  Saturday  mornings,  founding  his  earnest 
exhortations  to  repentance  and  a  godly  life  on  some 
passage  of  Scripture  read  at  the  opening  service  of  the 
chapel,  and  on  the  Sabbath  the  students  were  again 
assembled  before  him  in  the  chapel  to  receive  a  sys- 
tematic Biblical  instruction. 

To  his  view  the  student  was,  first  of  all,  a  sinner  re- 
quiring the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus,  and  all  learning 
and  discipline  were  subordinate,  and  to  be  made  sub- 
sidiary, to  the  great  end  of  spiritual  conversion  and 
renewal.  Education  was  a  training  of  the  whole  man^ 
and  thus  the  fear  of  the  Lord  was  recognized  as  the 
beginning  of  wisdom.    Oh  that  all  our  instructors  felt 


PKESIDENT  OF  KUTGEES  COLLEGE.      109 

this  truth,  as  did  the  distinguished  saint  whose  death 
has  put  the  whole  Church  in  mourning.     His  legacy 
to  us  all  is  the  example  of  a  consecrated  life.     As  w^e 
honor  his  memory,  may  we  follow  that  example. 
"  Yours  faithfully,  Howard  Crosby." 

While  thus  assiduously  and  successfully  engaged 
in  the  appropriate  duties  of  his  office,  his  home  was 
desolated  and  his  heart  bereaved  in  April,  1854,  by 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen.  "From  an  early 
period  of  hen  life  she  was  an  exemplary  member  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  enjoyed  beyond  most  the 
comforts  resulting  from  a  firm  trust  in  God  and  hope 
in  his  mercy  through  his  beloved  Son.  She  retained 
her  consciousness  until  near  the  close  of  life,  and  an- 
ticipated death  with  the  composure  and  peace  which 
nothing  but  faith  in  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God  can  inspire."  Three  years  afterward  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen repaired  the  breach  in  his  domestic  rela- 
tions by  a  union  with  Miss  Harriet  Pompelly,  of  Owe- 
go,  N.  Y.,  a  lady  of  great  intellectual  and  moral  worth, 
who,  after  ministering  largely  to  his  comfort  and  use- 
fulness during  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  still  sur- 
vives to  bear  his  name  and  cherish  the  memory  of  his 
many  virtues. 

In  New  Brunswick,  as  in  New  York,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen always  delivered,  at  the  annual  Commence- 
ment, a  baccalaureate  address  to  the  members  of  the 
graduating  class.  These  addresses  bore  the  stamp  of 
their  author.  Nothing  was  said  for  display  or  sensa- 
tional effect,  but  all  for  personal  and  practical  use. 
Such  themes  were  chosen  as  pertained  most  directly 
to  the  interesting  situation  of  the  young  men,  and 


110  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

weighty  thouglits  and  wise  counsels  were  urged  witli 
tlie  affectionate  earnestness  becoming  his  years  and 
position.  These  addresses  were  never  long,  much  less 
wearisome.  Their  author  studied  a  compact  brevity, 
and  a  simplicity  of  statement  and  illustration  which 
enchained  and  rewarded  attention.  His  suggestions 
covered  a  wide  range,  extending  to  all  the  relations 
of  his  hearers,  personal  and  social,  for  time  and  eter- 
nity. In  times  of  political  excitement  he  did  not  fail 
to  inculcate  a  pure  and  lofty  patriotism.  Shunning 
all  mere  partisanship,  he  gave  the  whole  weight  of  his 
experience  and  character  to  uphold  the  Constitution 
and  the  Union,  recurring  to  the  character  of  their 
founders,  and  pleading  with  a  pathetic  earnestness 
that  the  children  should  cherish  with  ceaseless  vigi- 
lance this  honored  legacy  of  their  fathers.  He  delight- 
ed to  invoke  afresh,  as  he  said  in  1855,  "  the  fraternal 
feelings  that  formed  the  American  Constitution,  which 
has  so  long  and  s»  illustriously  shown  how  much  of 
human  wisdom  and  forecast,  and  how  much  more  of 
divine  benignity,  crowned  this  first  great  experiment 
of  a  free  and  self-governed  people.  May  it  be  per- 
petual !  May  no  rash  hand  mar  its  glory  or  dare  dis- 
turb its  foundations !" 

The  last  years  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  life,  spent  in 
New  Brunswick,  were  attended  with  better  health 
than  he  had  enjoyed  in  New  York.  And  he  was,  in 
consequence,  even  more  active  than  before  in  render- 
ing occasional  services  to  such  benevolent  enterprises 
as  made  a  claim  upon  him  for  counsel  or  for  public 
addresses.  Usefulness  was  a  passion  with  him,  and 
there  was  no  sphere,  however  humble,  which  he  was 


PRESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE.      Ill 

not  ready  to  fill  when  called  upon.  It  was  a  matter 
of  thankful  joy  to  him  and  to  his  friends  that,  after  so 
long  a  period  spent  in  exhausting  cares  and  duties,  he 
was  still  able  faithfully  to  perform  the  regular  duties 
of  his  office,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  other  ways  act- 
ively contribute  to  the  general  good  of  his  fellow- 
men.  Yet,  in  the  case  of  one  who  had  lived  three 
quarters  of  a  century,  this  could  not  be  expected  to 
continue  very  long.  In  this  view  the  occurrence  of 
his  death  was  marked  by  a  providential  fitness.  He 
had  filled  the  probable  measure  of  his  activity.  He 
had  served  his  generation  faithfully  by  the  will  of 
God.  He  had  left  his  enduring  mark  upon  all  the 
stations  in  which  he  had  been  placed.  He  had  illus- 
trated all  the  various  phases  of  Christian  character  in 
the  scenes  of  active  life.  It  was  well  that  he  should 
pass  with  small  delay  from  his  work  to  his  reward; 
that  there  should  be  no  lengthened  period  of  enforced 
seclusion  and  gradual  decay  between  his  usual  effi- 
ciency and  his  final  rest ;  but  that,  when  called  away 
in  the  fullness  of  his  days,  honors,  and  labors,  it  might 
be  said  of  him  as  of  the  old  Eoman,  "  Felix,  non  vitse 
tan  turn  claritate,  sed  etiam  opportunitate  mortis." 

He  died  on  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  after  an  illness 
slightly  protracted,  the  details  of  which  will  be  fur- 
nished in  a  subsequent  chapter.  His  death,  although 
not  unexpected,  produced  a  deep  sensation  through- 
out the  community.  Eesolutions  complimentary  to 
his  memory  were  passed  by  the  Faculty  of  the  Col- 
lege, the  Council  of  the  University  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  the  Bar  of  Essex  County,  and  various  other 
bodies  with  which  he  had  been  connected;  and  his 


112  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

funeral,  on  the  fourtli  day  following  his  decease,  was 
attended  bj  a  large  concourse  of  persons  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  his  own  state,  and  also  from  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  Brief  and  appropriate  services 
were  held  at  his  recent  residence,  the  Eev.  Professor 
Woodbridge  and  the  Eev.  Dr.  H.  N.  Wilson  officiating. 
Afterward  a  long  procession  proceeded  to  the  First 
Eeformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church,  following  the 
bier,  the  pall  of  which  was  borne  by  the  governor, 
chancellor,  and  chief  justice  of  the  state,  the  president 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  twelve  other  dis- 
tinguished gentlemen.  The  flags  of  the  city  were  at 
half-mast,  the  bells  of  the  churches  were  tolled,  and 
the  places  of  business  along  the  route  to  the  church 
were  closed ;  every  possible  sign  of  respect  and  grief 
was  shown  by  his  fellow-citizens.  The  services  in 
the  church  were  opened  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  J.  Few  Smith, 
of  Newark,  with  the  announcement  of  Wesley's  beau- 
tiful hymn,  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,"  etc.,  and  the 
reading  of  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Hodge,  of  Princeton, 
the  friend  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  from  boyhood,  fol- 
lowed in  an  earnest,  humble,  simple,  and  impressive 
prayer.  A  carefully  prepared  and  eloquent  minute, 
adopted  by  the  trustees  of  the  college  in  reference  to 
the  life  and  character  of  the  deceased,  was  read  by 
their  secretary,  the  Eev.  Dr,  T.  C.  Strong,  of  New  York. 
The  address  of  the  occasion  was  pronounced  by  the 
venerable  Dr.  De  Witt,  of  the  Collegiate  Church,  New 
York,  who,  in  fitly-chosen  words,  and  with  a  voice 
and  manner  fraught  with  emotion,  portrayed  some- 
thing of  the  life  and  character  of  his  departed  friend, 


PRESIDENT  OF  RUTGERS  COLLEGE.     113 

and  gave  appropriate  utterance  to  the  feelings  wliicli 
animated  the  whole  of  the  vast  assembly.  The  Eev. 
Professor  Campbell  closed  the  services  in  the  church, 
after  which  the  remains  were  removed  to  the  adjoin- 
ing grounds,  where  already  so  many  of  the  former 
presidents  and  professors  of  the  institutions  at  New 
Brunswick  lie  sleeping  in  Jesus.  Here  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Neville,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  read  a  portion  of  the  funer- 
al service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and 
then,  beneath  the  lingering  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  all 
that  was  mortal  of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  was  com- 
mitted to  the  tomb. 


114  LIFE   OF  FRELIKGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS. 

His  Person. — Social  and  Domestic  Habits. — Hospitality. — Popular- 
ity.— Mental  Traits  :  Insight,  Judgment,  Imagination. — Reading. 
— Style. — Speeches. — Eloquence. — Instances. — Reminiscence  of 
Dr.  Magie. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen"  was  a  man  a  little  under  six 
feet  in  height,  with  a  sinewy  and  well-proportioned 
frame.  In  time  the  weight  of  years  and  the  inroads 
of  disease  somewhat  bent  his  erect  form  and  lessened 
his  flesh.  A  broad  expansive  forehead  towered  over 
a  pair  of  eyes  which,  soft  and  dreamy  in  repose,  when 
he  was  aroused  gleamed  and  flashed  with  strange 
power.  The  lines  of  his  mouth  and  chin  gave  a  tone 
of  decision  and  firmness  to  his  habitual  expression, 
which,  however,  when  he  was  conversing  with  friends, 
gave  way  to  a  very  fascinating  smile.  His  whole  ap- 
pearance, when  in  the  flush  of  early  manhood,  was  of 
a  commanding  jet  attractive  character. 

In  natural  disposition  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  amia- 
ble and  kind,  with  a  marked  tendency  to  mirth.  The 
old  men  in  Somerset,  N.  J.,  who  knew  him  when  they 
all  were  boys  together,  concur  in  describing  him  as  a 
lively,  pleasant  companion,  full  of  sport,  ready  to  give 
and  take  a  sharp  jest,  and  a  general  favorite  in  the 
community.  The  same  traits  marked  him  in  maturer 
years.  Even  when  most  burdened  with  cares  and  re- 
sponsibilities, he  knew  how  desipere  in  loco.     He  en- 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  115 

joyed  society  greatly.  The  company  of  congenial 
friends  was  his  best  earthly  relief  from  continued  and 
exhausting  labors.  He  entered  without  reserve  into 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  Never  forgetting,  even 
for  a  moment,  what  was  becoming  to  his  own  char- 
acter and  station,  he  yet  could  so  adapt  himself  to 
those  who  were  around  him  that  stiffness  and  formal- 
ity vanished,  the  timid  became  emboldened,  and  the 
young  found  themselves  quite  at  their  eaSe.  Al- 
though not  a  professed  wit,  he  had  a  keen  sense  of 
the  ludicrous,  and  not  unfrequently  enlivened  conver- 
sation with  sparkling  turns  of  thought.  Thus,  on  one 
occasion,  many  years  ago,  a  lawyer  who  was  notori- 
ous for  pecuniary  shifts  drove  a  very  handsome  equi- 
page to  the  Somerset  courts,  and,  as  he  was  displaying 
his  carriage  and  horses,  challenged  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  to  tell  what  he  gave  for  them.  "  Oh !  that  is  not 
hard  to  say,"  was  the  reply;  "I  have  no  doubt  you 
gave  your  note  for  them."  He  had  great  skill  and 
tact  in  narration  and  recital,  seizing  at  once  the  sali- 
ent points  of  the  story,  and  stating  them  with  few  and 
expressive  words.  His  conversational  resources  were 
large  and  varied.  Having  mingled  much  with  men 
of  every  class,  and  having,  by  his  professional  and 
political  associations,  acquired  great  familiarity  with 
human  life  in  all  its  aspects,  he  was  fitted  to  inform 
and  interest  others  on  almost  any  topic.  A  store  of 
reflection,  incident,  anecdote,  was  ready  at  hand  when- 
ever needed.  He  knew  how  to  listen  as  well  as  talk, 
and  his  sympathetic  nature,  habitual  kindness,  and  un- 
flagging courtesy  left  his  companions  nothing  to  desire. 
His  society  was  always,  even  in  his  advanced  years, 


116  LIFE   OF  FRELmGHUYSEN. 

pleasing  to  tlie  young.  Notwithstanding  tlie  pressure 
of  cares  and  the  increase  of  infirmities,  he  was  to  the 
end  youthful  in  his  feelings.  This  he  used  pleasantly 
to  attribute  to  the  fact  that  he  had  so  many  young 
nieces  and  nephews,  whose  society  aroused  his  sympa- 
thies and  precluded  the  rust  of  age.  Nothing  gave 
him  more  pleasure  than  to  have  them  in  his  family, 
to  see  them  around  his  board,  and  elicit  their  various 
traits  of  character  and  phases  of  feeling.  He  often 
spoke  of  the  beneficence  of  Providence  in  giving  "an 
undergrowth  of  affection"  to  the  moral  world  as  to  the 
"natural  forest,"  and  quoted  with  great  feeling  some 
characteristic  lines  of  Wordsworth  on  the  subject. 
He  felt,  with  the  author  of  the  Excursion,  that  while 

"The  primal  duties  shine  aloft  like  stars, 
The  charities  that  soothe,  and  heal,  and  bless, 
Ai'e  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  like  flowers ; 
The  generous  inclination,  the  just  rule, 
Kind  wishes,  and  good  actions,  and  pure  thoughts. 
No  mystery  is  here  ;  no  special  boon 
For  high  and  not  for  low,  for  proudly  graced 
And  not  for  meek  of  heart." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  interest  in  the  young  extended 
even  to  little  children.  In  his  daily  walks  in  New 
Brunswick,  he  could  scarcely  ever  meet  them  in  the 
street  without  pausing  to  look  in  their  smiling  faces 
and  engage  them  in  suitable  conversation.  Not  un- 
frequently,  when  he  saw  them  flattening  their  noses 
against  the  windows  of  a  toy-shop  in  their  eager  de- 
sire to  scan  its  treasures,  the  childless  man  would  find 
out  what  they  most  coveted,  and  then  gratify  himself 
by  gratifying  them. 

He  was  a  whole  man  with  a  rich  and  generous  na- 


PERSONAL  TEAITS  AND   HABITS.  117 

ture.  He  eujoyed  life,  and  wished  others  to  have  the 
same  pleasure.  Without  degenerating  into  a  mere 
animal,  he  appreciated  a  bountiful  table,  and,  with  the 
apostle,  counted  that  "  every  creature  of  God  is  good, 
and  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with  thanks- 
giving ;  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and 
prayer."  His  hospitality  was  uniform,  and  profuse, 
and  cordial.  Caring  nothing  for  fashion,  opposed  on 
principle  to  waste  and  extravagance,  and  attentive  to 
the  minor  duties  of  domestic  economy,  he  yet  carried 
the  largeness  of  his  own  soul  into  all  his  social  ar- 
rangements. Nothing  mean  or  petty  was  ever  suf- 
fered to  disfigure  his  household.  It  was  conducted 
on  the  scale  of  one  who  could  use  this  world  without 
abusing  it,  and  who,  while  duly  prizing  the  unspeak- 
able spiritual  gifts  of  the  Lord,  could  yet  thankfully 
receive  and  heartily  enjoy  his  temporal  bounties. 

The  personal  popularity  of  Mr,  Frelinghuysen  with 
many  men  in  political  life  who  had  little  or  no  sym- 
pathy with  his  religious  opinions  can  scarcely  be  ac- 
counted for  without  supposing  something  in  the  inher- 
ent nature  of  the  man,  a  sort  of  magnetism,  such  as 
existed  so  remarkably  in  his  great  friend  and  compa- 
triot, Henry  Clay,  which  grappled  admirers  as  with 
hooks  of  steel,  and  held  them  by  a  willing  but  invin- 
cible bond.  He  had  a  chivalrous  nature.  He  was 
the  soul  of  honor.  He  could  not  do  small  things  or 
mean  things.  There  was  in  him  a  strange  combina- 
tion of  fearless  courage  and  melting  tenderness.  He 
was  frank  and  open-hearted,  yet  always  retaining  his 
personal  dignity.  He  was  devoid  of  reserve  or  cun- 
ning.    He  never  sought  an  end  through  indirection. 


118  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

And  he  was  thoroughly  trustworthy.  Truth  and  can- 
dor beamed  in  his  countenance,  and  characterized  ev- 
ery word  and  act,  Eigid  adherence  to  principle  was 
unaccompanied  by  any  narrowness  of  views,  or  sour- 
ness of  disposition,  or  uncharitableness  of  opinions. 
His  catholic  sympathies  took  in  men  of  all  sections, 
and  classes,  and  parties;  and  the  nobleness  of  his 
nature  commanded  respect  and  won  affection  even 
among  those  who  dissented  most  decidedly  from  his 
political  or  religious  convictions.  It  was  doubtless 
the  rare  blending  of  deep  Christian  humility  and  con- 
scientiousness with  a  cheerful,  buoyant,  manly,  gener- 
ous, fearless  deportment  in  all  the  varied  phases  of 
life,  which  attracted  the  good  will  of  many  who  oth- 
erwise would  have  been  repelled  by  the  strictness  of 
his  course  and  character. 

The  prominent  feature  of  his  intellectual  ch^acter 
was  insight.  He  had  a  quick,  keen  perception.  His 
mind  moved  rapidly.  Naturally  alert  and  agile,  it 
was  disciplined  to  strike  right  at  the  heart  of  things. 
He  had  no  relish  for  cloudland.  He  could  not  endure 
mist  and  fog.  His  masculine  understanding  craved 
the  solid  truth,  and  this  he  commonly  grasped  as  if 
by  a  sort  of  intuition.  He  reached  his  end  by  a  much 
shorter  process  than  the  repeated  and  painful  tenta- 
tives  by  which  most  men  arrive  at  their  conclusions. 
Nor  was  this  because  he  looked  only  at  the  surface. 
He  saw  clearly  and  he  saw  far.  His  comprehensive 
glance  took  in  all  the  relations  of  a  subject  at  the 
same  time.  The  connections  of  truth,  the  bearings  of 
facts,  the  springs  of  action,  the  developments  of  char- 
acter, were  apprehended  by  him  with  peculiar  facility 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  119 

and  promptness.  He  was  not  often  or  easily  blinded 
by  mere  appearances,  but  pierced  at  once  to  the  reali- 
ty. His  friends  and  students  were  often  amazed  at 
the  rapidity  of  his  mental  operations.  He  would  take 
a  law-book  down  from  the  shelf,  and,  turning  a  few 
leaves,  would  gain,  in  what  appeared  an  incredibly 
short  time,  an  accurate  comprehension  of  its  contents. 
The  same  was  true  in  human  character.  At  his  first 
interview  with  a  man,  he  would,  without  betraying 
the  fact  either  by  look  or  motion,  thoroughly  measure 
his  visitor,  and  form  an  opinion  which  he  rarely,  if 
ever,  found  occasion  to  revise  or  alter. 

This  sharpness  of  perception  was  accompanied  by 
a  very  sound  and  accurate  judgment.  He  was  cool, 
cautious,  and  dispassionate,  not  wedded  to  theories, 
not  attracted  by  startling  novelties,  not  misled  by  any 
love  of  paradox.  He  could  discriminate  nicely,  could 
weigh  differences,  and  feel  the  force  of  objections.  In 
all  matters,  personal,  social,  professional,  political,  and 
ecclesiastical,  it  was  his  habit  to  consider  both  sides 
of  a  contested  point,  and  then  impartially  adjust  their 
respective  claims.  However  intense  his  convictions 
on  any  subject,  they  never  led  him  into  extravagance 
or  fanaticism.  He  never  avoided  one  error  only  to 
fall  into  another  of  the  opposite  class.  This  exquisite 
balance  of  his  mind  appeared  alike  in  arguments,  in 
addresses,  in  counsel  on  different  questions,  and  in  the 
general  conduct  of  his  life.  His  "large,  roundabout 
sense"  gave  to  the  advice  often  solicited  from  him  a 
force  like  that  of  inspiration.  He  was  singularly  free 
from  prejudice,  precipitancy,  and  partiality,  and  seem- 
ed to  know  instinctively  what  to  say  and  how  to  say  it. 


120  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

His  imagination  was  lively  and  fertile,  but  it  was 
not  a  primary  power.  It  was  not  remarkably  origi- 
native, but  in  an  uncommon  degree  receptive,  having 
a  capacity  of  realizing  the  conceptions  of  others,  and 
through  them  bodying  forth  the  unseen.  "When  ex- 
alted by  the  understanding  and  heated  by  the  affec- 
tions, it  burst  out  with  great  force,  but  always  as  a 
servant,  not  master.  Nor  did  it  ever  exhibit  traces 
of  any  unusual  or  careful  cultivation.  In  preparing 
for  an  audience,  his  attention  was  concentrated  mainly 
on  the  matter  and  order  of  the  thoughts ;  all  the  rest 
was  left  to  the  natural  workings  of  his  mind  under 
the  spur  of  the  occasion.  Its  main  use  to  him  was  in 
jury-trials,  when  by  its  aid  he  was  able  to  bring  up 
the  past  and  the  distant  so  as  to  make  them  live  in 
the  present  before  the  men  whose  verdict  he  sought 
to  gain.  His  interest  in  the  grave  themes  he  was  ac- 
customed to  handle  did  not  allow  him  to  go  out  of 
the  way  for  mere  ornament.  Whatever  flights  of  fan- 
cy would  contribute  to  the  end  he  had  in  view  were 
freely  indulged,  but  nothing  for  purposes  of  display. 

Although  he  never  undertook  to  versify,  he  seems 
to  have  had  a  great  deal  of  poetic  sensibility.  "  This," 
as  one  of  his  near  friends  remarks,  "caused  him  to 
feel  an  indescribable  charm  in  all  the  scenes  of  rural 
life.  To  him  there  was  a  grace  in  the  laborer's  cheer- 
ful toil,  the  singing  of  birds,  the  hum  of  the  insect 
world.  A  snow-storm  gave  him  great  pleasure;  he 
stood  gazing  upon  the  whitening  landscape  with  ever 
new  delight." 

His  reading  throughout  life  was  careful  and  select 
rather  than  extensive.    Gibbon  among  historians,  and 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND   HABITS.  121 

Burke  among  philosophical  and  political  writers,  were 
his  chief  favorites.  The  leisure  he  enjoyed  in  the 
early  years  of  his  professional  life  was  spent  in  famil- 
iarizing himself  with  the  best  English  classics.  Sir 
Eoger  de  Coverly  was  a  character  he  always  greatly 
admired,  and  Dr.  Johnson's  Life  and  Works  were  sub- 
jects of  abiding  interest  to  his  mind.  Like  every 
other  man  of  taste,  he  highly  appreciated  Milton  and 
Shakspeare,  but  his  warmest  affection  was  for  Cow- 
per,  Montgomery,  and  "Wordsworth.  From  "  The  Ex- 
cursion" the  inmates  of  his  household  often  heard  him 
read  aloud  with  very  great  sensibility  and  pathos. 
For  light  literature  he  never  had  any  taste.  He  could 
gain  suf&cient  relaxation  from  the  burden  of  profes- 
sional toils  by  solid  reading  or  in  the  social  circle, 
without  reducing  his  mental  and  moral  stamina  by  a 
weak,  washy  flood  of  ephemeral  fiction.  This  taste 
continued  to  the  end.  As  his  cares  increased  there 
was  less  opportunity  for  miscellaneous  reading,  but 
what  time  he  could  redeem  for  the  purpose  was  care- 
fully improved.  He  kept  in  some  degree  abreast  of 
the  literature  of  the  age,  yet  habitually  preferred  to  re- 
fresh his  mind  with  those  productions  upon  which 
time  had  set  its  unerring  seal. 

For  devotional  reading  he  was  accustomed  to  re- 
sort to  the  Morning  and  Evening  Exercises  of  Jay,  the 
Sacra  Privata  of  Bishop  Wilson,  and  particularly  to 
the  practical  works  of  Baxter,  whose  Saint's  Eest  he 
esteemed  next  to  the  Bible.  He  found  the  habitual 
perusal,  from  day  to  day,  of  such  works  greatly  con- 
ducive to  his  spirituality  and  comfort.  But,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  his  last  pastor,  the-  Eev.  Dr. 

F 


122  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Wilson,  of  New  Brunswick,  bis  advancing  years  led 
him  to  a  more  exclusive  attachment  to  the  "Word  of 
God  as  the  means  of  growing  in  personal  holiness. 

Mr.  Frelinghujsen's  diction  in  oral  and  written  pro- 
ductions was  terse,  chaste,  and  perspicuous.  His  stylo 
indicated  a  familiarity  with  the  older  models  of  En- 
glish, and  sometimes  betrayed  the  influence  which  Dr. 
Johnson's  sonorous  periods  exerted  upon  writers  in 
both  hemispheres  at  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
There  was  nothing  elaborate  in  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
mode  of  expression,  no  curiosa  feliciias^  no  attempts  at 
word-painting,  but  rather  a  careless  ease  and  grace, 
which  seemed  to  seek  only  a  transparent  medium  for 
the  thought,  and  postponed  all  other  considerations  to 
the  one  object  of  conveying  his  own  views  and  carry- 
ing conviction  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers. 

His  speeches  were  all  remarkable  for  compactness 
and  brevity.  His  great  effort  in  the  Senate  on  the 
Indian  Bill,  which  occupied  parts  of  three  days,  and 
consumed  about  five  hours  altogether,  was  an  excep- 
tion which  was  due  to  the  importance  of  the  subject 
and  to  the  large  mass  of  documentary  evidence  which 
the  nature  of  his  argument  required  him  to  introduce. 
But  in  general  he  rarely  exceeded  an  hour.  When 
at  the  bar  he  studied  principles  rather  than  cases,  and 
shunned  the  risk  of  being  smothered  under  the  weight 
of  accumulated  authorities.  The  peculiarities  of  his 
mind  enabled  him  to  seize  upon  the  strong  points  of 
a  case,  and  these  he  pressed  home  with  resistless  pow- 
er. He  scorned  tricks,  sharp  practice,  and  unfair  ad- 
vantages, and  won  a  cause  honorably  or  not  at  all. 
His  main  reliance  was  upon  solid  reasoning  addressed 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  123 

neither  to  the  prejudices  nor  the  passions  of  his  hear- 
ers, but  to  their  judgment.  Yet,  like  every  other 
speaker  who  has  a  point  to  gain,  he  employed  all  the 
subsidiary  means  which  Nature  put  into  his  hands  to 
arrest  attention,  to  awaken  interest,  to  conciliate  favor, 
to  stir  the  fountains  of  laughter  or  of  tears.  It  is  re- 
lated that  once,  when  urging  the  conviction  of  a  noto- 
rious counterfeiter,  he  had  occasion  to  represent  the 
way  in  which  the  accused  passed  off  the  spurious 
notes  upon  a  neighbor,  the  statement  was  so  comical 
that  the  entire  court  and  jury  broke  into  a  peal  of 
laughter,  in  which  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  joined  as 
heartily  as  any  of  the  rest.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  years  later,  precisely  the  opposite  effect  was 
produced  in  the  same  city.  In  1837  the  American 
Board  held  its  annual  meeting  in  Newark  under  cir- 
cumstances of  deep  interest.  The  commercial  revul- 
sion of  that  memorable  year  had  greatly  impaired  the 
receipts  of  the  Board,  and  threatened  to  leave  it  em- 
barrassed with  a  very  heavy  and  unmanageable  debt. 
At  one  stage  of  the  anxious  discussions  produced  by 
this  state  of  things,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  who  was  sit- 
ting among  the  audience  in  the  body  of  the  house, 
suddenly  arose  to  speak.  He  had  been  deeply  moved 
by  some  of  the  representations  made,  and  he  stood  up 
to  pour  out  an  overflowing  heart.  For  half  an  hour 
he  held  the  crowded  house  spellbound.  His  speech, 
wholly  unpremeditated,  ran  on  in  a  strain  of  the  lofti- 
est eloquence.  The  speaker  was  lost  in  his  theme. 
His  animated  appeals  for  the  Savior's  honor  and  the 
salvation  of  a  perishing  world  overwhelmed  the  entire 
audience  with  a  flood  of  sacred  emotion.     Old  and 


124  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

young  were  melted  under  the  orator,  so  that  hardly  a 
dry  eye  was  to  be  found  in  the  house.  A  similar  in- 
stance is  mentioned  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  W.  J.  E.  Taylor, 
in  a  sermon  preached  on  occasion  of  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's  death.  In  illustration  of  his  "  peculiar  powers 
of  eloquent  speech,"  the  preacher  says,  "  Thus  I  re- 
member how,  a  few  years  ago,  when  some  converted 
Indians  were  introduced  at  one  of  the  sessions  of  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  he  welcomed 
them  in  an  impromptu  address  which  thrilled  the  vast 
assembly,  and  so  paralyzed  the  utterance  of  others, 
that  even  one  of  the  most  eminent  pulpit  orators  of 
our  time,  who  was  to  follow  him,  only  apologized,  and 
exclaiming,  'But  who  can  come  after  the  king?'  sat 
down  among  the  tearful  multitude." 

His  reported  speeches  are  not  a  fair  expression  of 
his  oratorical  powers.  His  mind,  strong  and  richly 
furnished  as  it  was,  needed  the  spur  of  opposition  or 
provocation  to  bring  out  its  full  capacity.  It  is  true 
that,  when  he  spoke  on  set  occasions,  after  preparation 
in  the  calmness  of  the  closet,  what  he  said  was  always 
appropriate,  judicious,  and  instructive;  but  these  pro- 
ductions bore  no  comparison  to  the  utterances  of  the 
same  man  when  upon  his  feet  before  a  popular  assem- 
bly, with  his  whole  soul  aroused  and  a  vehement  in- 
ward impulse  urging  him  to  speak.  Then  he  seemed 
to  rise  with  the  magnitude  of  the  subject  or  the  occa- 
sion. Thoughts  marshaled  themselves  in  the  order 
of  a  natural  logic,  and  words  tripped  like  nimble  serv- 
itors at  a  master's  bidding.  At  such  times  he  was 
every  inch  an  orator.  His  whole  frame  was  moved. 
His  voice  responded  accurately  to  every  phase  of  his 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  125 

feelings.  He  was  vehement,  yet  not  overstrained; 
earnest,  yet  by  no  means  frantic.  In  the  very  whirl 
of  excitement  he  was  master  of  himself,  and  therefore 
of  his  audience,  whom  he  electrified  and  carried  away 
as  if  with  a  magician's  spell. 

He  usually  began  to  speak  in  a  slow,  simple  style, 
gradually  warming  as  he  proceeded.  He  never  was 
at  a  loss  for  words,  but  went  on  with  increasing  fluen- 
cy to  the  end.  He  was  animated  and  impassioned, 
and  at  times  overwhelming.  His  eloquence  was  of 
that  kind  to  which  no  report  ever  does  or  can  do  jus- 
tice. The  kindling  eye,  the  heaving  form,  the  express- 
ive tones,  the  impetuous  emotion,  can  not  be  trans- 
ferred to  paper.  The  outward  man  responded  in  ev- 
ery muscle  and  fibre  to  the  inward  passion.  The 
earnestness  of  the  speaker,  and  his  intense  conviction 
of  the  truth  and  importance  of  what  he  was  saying, 
took  full  hold  of  his  audience,  and  made  an  impression 
which  long  outlasted  the  occasion.  Men  often  ad- 
mired and  praised  the  speaker,  but  still  oftener  they 
forgot  him  and  thought  only  of  what  they  were  to  do. 

In  speaking  before  benevolent  and  religious  institu- 
tions, the  effect  produced  depended  almost  entirely 
upon  the  frame  of  mind  in  which  he  happened  to  be 
at  the  time.  If  called  upon  at  the  first,  or  in  an  or- 
dinary state  of  mind,  he  never  came  up  to  his  reputa- 
tion. But  if  suddenly  stirred  by  some  perilous  crisis, 
or  roused  by  the  energy  of  some  preceding  speaker, 
he  seemed  to  break  loose  from  all  fetters,  and  soar  at 
once  into  the  region  of  natural  and  vehement  elo- 
quence. His  soul  took  fire.  His  logic  was  red-hot. 
His  appeals  were  irresistible.     Before  the  audience 


126  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

were  aware,  they  found  themselves  borne  away  at  a 
master's  will,  and  every  thought  and  feeling  absorbed 
in  the  rushing  flow  of  the  orator's  voice. 

' '  And  when  the  stream 
Which  overflowed  the  soul  was  passed  away, 
A  consciousness  remained  that  it  had  left 
Deposited  upon  the  silent  shore 
Of  memory,  images  and  precious  thoughts 
That  shall  not  die  and  can  not  be  destroyed." 

The  following  interesting  reminiscence  of  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  ability  as  a  persuasive  speaker  has  been 
kindly  furnished  to  the  author  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Magie, 
of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.: 

"You  ask  me  to  give  you  a  little  incident  which  I 
mentioned  at  our  recent  Sabbath-school  Convention 
of  a  man  whom  I  never  think  of  but  with  respect  and 
love.  Christians  owe  it  to  themselves,  as  well  as  to 
the  cause  of  Christ,  not  to  forget  the  late  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen.  To  whom  can  parents  better  recom- 
mend their  children  as  an  example  of  all  that  is  bright 
and  beautiful  in  character;  and  of  whom  can  the 
Church  speak  to  her  members  better  suited  to  encour- 
age high  aims  and  efforts  in  her  service?  I  hope  you 
will  be  enabled  to  embalm  his  memory,  and  render  it 
fragrant  for  ages  to  come. 

"The  incident,  with  its  associations,  was  this:  A 
good  brother  had  just  pronounced  a  brief  and  touch- 
ing eulogy  upon  that  incomparable  man,  in  connection 
with  Sabbath-schools,  and  telling  us  that  when  chosen 
to  the  office  of  superintendent  of  a  school  in  the  Church 
to  which  he  belonged,  he  prevented  all  apology  for 
putting  so  much  additional  work  upon  hands  already 
full  by  declaring  that  he  regarded  the  post  as,  on  some 
accounts,  more  honorable  than  that  of  senator  of  the 
United  States,  My  heart  was  moved,  as  was  every 
other  heart  present,  and,  in  a  moment,  a  crowd  of  ten- 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  127 

der  recollections  came  pouring  in  upon  me.  No  oth- 
er person  present  had  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  an  ac- 
quaintance with  hijii  for  so  many  years,  and  I  confess 
to  some  rising  of  desire,  just  then  and  there,  to  appear 
in  connection  with  a  name  so  esteemed  and  illustrious. 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  in  attendance  as  an  elder 
of  the  Second  Church  of  Newark  upon  the  sessions  of 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  held  in  my  lecture-room. 
A  minute  was  under  consideration  recommending  the 
cause  of  African  Colonization  to  the  confidence  of  our 
churches,  but  it  was  opposed  by  an  aged  and  venera- 
ble minister  present  on  the  ground  that  this  was  no 
cure  for  the  evils  of  slavery,  and,  indeed,  was  adapted 
in  his  opinion  to  rivet  the  chains  of  the  poor  blacks 
still  more  firmly.  The  speech  was  able,  and  was  lis- 
tened to  by  many  with  feelings  of  deep  regret.  At 
its  close  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen. 
His  eloquence  as  a  speaker,  the  influence  he  was  rap- 
idly gaining  in  the  community  as  a  man  of  enlight- 
ened and  generous  philanthropy,  and  especially  the 
deep  interest  he  had  begun  to  manifest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  poor  blacks,  all  pointed  to  him  as  the  person 
who  must  put  things  right  before  the  Synod.  In  a 
few  minutes  he  rose  with  a  face  shining  like  the  face 
of  an  angel,  and  for  twenty  minutes  he  held  us  all 
completely  entranced. 

"The  tones  of  his  voice  seem  still  to  ring  in  my  ears 
as  he  pleaded  for  doing  what  we  could,  even  if  we 
could  not  do  every  thing.  Eeferring  to  the  preaching 
of  John  the  Baptist,  when  first  the  people  general- 
ly, then  the  publicans,  and  last  the  soldiers,  crowded 
around  him,  saying,  '  What  shall  we  do  ?'  he  repeated 
the  words  of  the  bold  man  in  tones  that  awakened  the 
response  of  gushing  tears.  I  need  not  say  that  the 
resolution  was  adopted  with  but  a  single  dissenting 
voice. 

"This  scene,  let  me  add,  brought  to  me  and  to  sev- 
eral members  of  the  Synod  another  rich  treat.     Dr. 


128  LIFE  OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Archibald  Alexander  was  staying  at  my  house,  and 
never  shall  I  forget  his  manner  as,  laying  off  his  coat, 
he  entered  the  parlor,  exclaiming, '  This  is  wonderful ; 
I  have  long  esteemed  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  and  consid- 
ered him  a  most  excellent  man,  but  never  till  this  after- 
noon was  I  aware  of  his  power.  I  have  been  remind- 
ed of  some  of  the  very  best  efforts  of  Patrick  Henry.' 
The  good  old  man  then  went  on  to  give  us  some  de- 
lightful reminiscences  of  that  prodigy  of  ready  elo- 
quence as  witnessed  by  himself. 

"  But  I  must  not  go  farther.  The  mention  of  the 
name  of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  touched  a  chord  in 
my  heart  which  must  vibrate  so  long  as  it  is  in  me  to 
revere  unsullied  purity  of  character,  venerate  exalted 
station,  and  love  mild  and  childlike  Christian  piety. 
Heaven  seems  to  me  more  attractive  for  the  hope  that 
I  shall  meet  the  beloved  man  there." 


ORIGIN  OF  HIS  PIETY.  129 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ORIGIN  AND   CHARACTER  OF  HIS  PIETY. 

Early  Impressions. — Conversion  at  Newark. — Influence  of  his  Broth- 
er's Death. — Eminence  of  his  Piety. — Its  Elements:  1.  Simplicity 
of  Faith;  2.  Humility;  3.  Devotional  Habits;  4.  Geniality;  5.Ten- 
dernesss  of  Conscience  ;  G.  Completeness ;  7.  The  Fruit  of  Culture. 
— Letter  from  Dr.  Woodbridge. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  born  within  tlie  pale  of 
the  Christian  Church,  and  in  infancy  received  the  bap- 
tismal seal  of  his  birthright.  He  was  carefully  trained 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  and  while 
yet  young  manifested  the  same  tenderness  of  con- 
science which  characterized  all  his  mature  years.  His 
deepest  religious  impressions  were  traced  by  himself 
to  the  influence  of  his  pious  grandmother,  the  Juf- 
vrouw  Hardenbergh,  who  took  particular  pains  to 
lead  him  to  the  Savior.  Deservedly  eminent  for  her 
piety,  she  was  far  from  being  austere,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, gracious  and  winning.  Her  heart  was  set  on 
seeing  the  ministry  recruited  from  her  own  family, 
and,  though  disappointed  in  this  respect  in  the  career 
of  her  oldest  son,  she  renewed  her  desire  in  the  case 
of  his  children.  Theodore,  in  his  advanced  years, 
gratefully  acknowledged  his  indebtedness  to  her  pious 
counsels,  which,  although  they  did  not  attain  their 
end  at  once,  yet  sank  deep  into  his  memory  and  heart, 
and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  solid  and  symmetric- 
al Christian  character  which  he  afterward  exhibited. 
F  2 


130  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  his  religious 
views  and  sensibihties  suffered  any  deterioration  while 
at  school  in  Basking  Eidge.  Dr.  Finley  was  remark- 
able for  the  attention  which  he  paid  to  the  spiritual 
culture  of  his  pupils.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Studdiford,  of 
Lambertville,  N.  J.,  speaks  very  warmly  of  his  holy 
earnestness  in  this  work,  and  of  his  success  in  bring- 
ing truth  forcibly  home  to  the  minds  of  youth.  And 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  younger  brother,  Frederick,  who 
was  also  one  of  Dr.  Finley's  scholars,  bore  witness  on 
his  dying  bed  to  the  fidelity  of  "that  good  man," 
through  whose  instrumentality  "  the  Lord  began  to 
be  gracious  to  his  soul,  and  to  sow  the  good  seed  in 
his  young  and  tender  heart."  Still,  no  such  change 
appears  to  have  been  wrought  as  yet  upon  the  mind 
of  Theodore.  He  was  correct,  moral,  conscientious, 
and  studiously  observant  of  the  outward  duties  of  re- 
ligion, but  nothing  more ;  nor  did  he  reach  the  final 
decision  until  he  came  to  reside  in  Newark. 

Here  he  became  interested  in  the  founding  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  its  first  Board  of  Trustees  in  January,  1811. 
He  was  received  into  the  full  communion  of  the 
Church  in  September,  1817,  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Griffin,  of  whose  ministrations  he  was 
always  accustomed  to  speak  in  terms  of  the  highest 
respect  and  gratitude.  Not  many  months  before  his 
death,  when  writing  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Few  Smith,  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  discourse  on  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  Second  Church,  he  used  this  expression 
in  reference  to  his  coming  to  Christ :  "  I  feel  a  strong 
interest  in  that  dear  sanctuary  where  my  own  hopes 


ORIGIN   OF   HIS  PIETY.  131 

of  salvation  first  trembled  into  experience."  This 
"sweet  and  cliaracteristic"  expression  well  describes 
the  prevailing  type  of  his  religious  experience.  The 
law-woi%  as  the  old-fashioned  divines  express  it,  was 
wrought  upon  his  soul  with  great  power.  He  had  a 
deep  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  of  the  justice  of  God,  of 
the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart,  of  the  perils  of  tempta- 
tion ;  and  he  habitually  trembled  under  the  fear  of 
offending  his  gracious  Savior. 

A  few  years  after  his  connection  with  the  Second 
Church,  his  seriousness  and  spirituality  were  greatly 
increased  by  the  dealings  of  the  Lord  with  his  brother 
Frederick,  who,  after  five  weeks  of  illness,  was  re- 
moved by  death  in  November,  1820.  This  brother 
had  been,  while  yet  young,  brought  very  nigh  to  the 
kingdom,  but  afterward  strayed  into  forbidden  paths, 
so  much  so  as  to  be  even  infected  with  deistical  sen- 
timents. He  was,  however,  graciously  restored,  and, 
but  a  few  months  before  his  death,  delivered  an  elo- 
quent address  before  the  Somerset  County  Bible  Soci- 
ety. At  the  last  communion  season  of  the  Church  in 
Millstone,  N.  J.,  which  he  attended,  he  was  greatly  in- 
clined to  join  himself  to  the  number  of  God's  profess- 
ed people,  but,  through  fear  of  unfitness,  and  dread  of 
subsequently  becoming  a  reproach  to  the  cause,  de- 
termined to  postpone  the  matter.  When  overtaken  by 
disease  he  saw  his  error,  confessed  his  sin,  and  sought 
earnestly,  as  a  new  sacramental  season  was  approach- 
ing, to  be  examined  and  received  by  the  officers  of 
the  Church.  His  request  was  granted,  and  in  his  sick- 
room he  made  a  noble  confession  of  Christ.  Hence- 
forward he  spent  his  whole  time  in  prayer  and  praise, 


132  LIFE  OF  FRELmGHUYSEN. 

in  sweet  expressions  of  submission  to  the  Divine  will, 
in  earnest  entreaties  to  his  impenitent  friends  and 
neighbors  to  seek  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  in 
pious  communion  with  the  Christian  friends  around 
his  bedside.  The  printed  narrative  of  his  exercises 
states  that  on  one  occasion,  "  his  second  brother  [The- 
odore] went  to  him  and  said,  '  Frederick,  the  Savior 
must  appear  very  precious  to  you  now.'  He  raised 
his  hands,  his  countenance  beaming  with  inexpressi- 
ble joy  and  serenity,  and  said,  '  Oh,  Theodore,  Theo- 
dore, I  have  not  language  to  describe  it.  The  enjoy- 
ment of  this  hour  is  greater  than  that  of  my  whole 
life.'"  At  other  times,  when  urged  to  desist  from 
speaking,  and  seek,  if  possible,  to  get  some  sleep,  he 
answered,  "  Why?  I  am  much  happier  than  if  I  were 
asleep,  and  what  I  say  may  do  good  hereafter." 

The  whole  scene  is  described  by  those  who  wit- 
nessed it,  some  of  whom,  after  the  lapse  of  forty  years, 
still  retain  a  vivid  recollection  of  it,  as  most  affecting. 
The  impression  it  made  upon  Theodore  was  decided 
and  indelible.  It  was  so  pervading  as  to  render  him, 
in  the  judgment  of  his  friends,  almost  another  man. 
He  seemed  to  ascend  at  once  to  a  higher  plane  of  the 
Christian  life,  to  make  a  new  and  entire  consecration 
of  himself  to  the  Savior,  and  to  walk  henceforth  as  in 
the  continual  presence  of  things  unseen  and  eternal. 

Nor  was  this  a  short-lived  impulse.  It  ended  only 
with  his  life.  There  have  been  few  believers  in  any 
age  whose  course  and  character  have  been  marked  by 
so  little  that  is  fitful  and  evanescent.  His  course  was 
literally  like  the  shining  light,  which  shineth  more  and 
more  unto  the  perfect  day.     There  was  no  obvious 


OEiaiK   OF   HIS   PIETY.  133 

abatement  or  pause  in  his  steady  walk  witli  God. 
While  in  the  world  he  was  not  of  it,  but  overcame  it, 
often  in  circumstances  sufficiently  difficult  and  per- 
plexing. His  religion  was  not  a  thing  of  time  and 
place,  an  appendage,  a  separable  part  of  the  man.  It 
was  the  man  himself.  It  pervaded  his  whole  charac- 
ter, shaped  his  course,  entered  into  the  very  elements 
of  his  being,  and  made  him  what  he  was.  Like  Jo- 
seph of  Arimathea,  he  was  an  honorable  counselor, 
but,  like  him  also,  he  was  a  good  man  and  a  just. 

His  piety  did  not  derive  its  eminence  simply  from 
the  force  of  contrast,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  so  rare  to 
find  any  spiritual  Christianity  at  all  among  those  who 
are  embarked  upon  the  troubled  sea  of  politics.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  great  absolutely  as  well  as  rela- 
tively. Had  he  been  confined  to  private  life,  wholly 
unknown  beyond  a  narrow  circle,  still  within  that 
circle  he  would  have  been  a  Christian  of  mark,  emi- 
nent for  spirituality,  self-denial,  heavenly -mindedness, 
consistency,  purity,  and  usefulness.  There  was  such 
a  completeness  in  his  character,  such  a  harmony  be- 
tween the  inward  and  the  outward,  such  an  attention 
to  the  greater  duties  without  the  neglect  of  the  lesser, 
such  an  evident  candor  and  sincerity,  such  an  earn- 
estness and  meekness  of  spirit,  that  all  who  knew  him 
even  slightly,  much  more  those  who  enjoyed  his  fa- 
miliar intercourse,  felt  that  he  v/as  a  man  after  God's 
own  heart. 

1.  In  considering  the  characteristic  elements  of  his 
piety,  those  who  knew  him  well  were  most  struck  by 
the  great  simplicity  of  his  faith.  "While  he  was  well 
grounded  in  the  abstruser  doctrines  of  the  Christian 


134:  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

system  and  tliorouglily  versed  in  its  evidences,  be  had 
a  spiritual  perception  of  tlie  trutli  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
He  saw  his  own  wants,  and  the  admirable  provision 
made  for  them  in  the  Savior's  finished  work.  He 
was  willing  to  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excel- 
lent knowledge  of  Christ,  because  his  own  experience 
taught  him  its  inexpressible  value.  He  rested,  there- 
fore, upon  the  revelations  and  promises  of  the  written 
"Word  with  a  confiding,  childlike  faith,  the  very  sim- 
plicity of  which  made  it  invincible  to  all  the  assaults 
of  skepticism  or  worldliness.  It  was  not  necessary  for 
him  to  be  able  logically  to  refute  any  of  the  various 
charges  which  human  or  diabolic  subtlety  has  brought 
against  the  Gospel.  He  had  the  witness  in  himself, 
and  therefore  stood  unmoved  amid  all  the  clamor  of 
skeptics  and  scoffers.  His  natural  intelligence  in- 
clined him  at  times  to  investigate  the  more  recondite 
parts  of  theology,  and  in  mature  years  he  refreshed 
his  early  classical  studies  for  the  sake  of  studying  the 
New  Testament  in  the  original,  yet  the  prevailing 
type  of  his  religious  thoughts  and  meditations  was  of 
a  simpler  cast. 

This  view  of  his  faith  is  pleasantly  confirmed  by 
the  following  statement  in  his  own  words,  for  which 
I  am  indebted  to  my  friend  and  colleague,  the  Rev.  J. 
T.  Duryea,  who  was  present  on  the  occasion  referred 
to: 

"  President  Frelinghuysen  was  addressing  a  little 
company  of  the  friends  of  Sabbath-schools  in  New 
Brunswick,  and  encouraging  them  to  hope  for  the  ear- 
ly conversion  of  children,  because  of  the  simplicity  of 
the  way  of  life,  and  its  adaptedness  to  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  most  youthful  minds. 


CHAEACTER  OF  HIS  PIETY.  135 

"He  said,  'After  all,  we  must,  however  wise  or 
great  in  our  own  estimation  or  in  the  estimation  of 
others,  become  as  little  children  in  order  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  The  simple  facts  of  the  Gospel 
are  the  foundation  of  our  hope.  This  is  my  experi- 
ence. I  have  tried  to  study  the  mysteries  of  our  re- 
ligion. I  have  read  the  great  apostle's  writings,  and 
meditated  upon  them  with  much  satisfaction,  and  have 
endeavored  to  trace  his  arguments  and  fathom  his 
meaning.  But  when  I  think  of  myself,  a  sinner  be- 
fore God  —  when  I  look  forward  to  death,  and  the 
judgment,  and  eternity,  I  forget  these  deep  things  of 
God;  faith  clings  to  one  precious  truth,  and  hope  adds 
to  it  another,  and  they  are  these :  Jesus  Christ  loved 
me  and  died  for  me,  and  I  feel  in  my  poor  sinful  heart 
a  responsive  throb  of  love  to  him.'  " 

2.  Humility  was  another  eminently  characteristic 
feature  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  character.  His  lowli- 
ness was  profound  and  unaffected.  It  sprang  from 
the  deep  sense  which  he  had,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the 
Divine  holiness,  and,  on  the  other,  of  human  depravity. 
Measuring  himself  by  the  lofty  standard  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, he  continually  saw  enough  of  defect,  even  in  his 
best  services  and  holiest  exercises,  to  keep  him  in  a 
low  place  before  God.  Hence  the  permanency  of  this 
trait.  He  grew  in  grace,  in  knowledge,  in  wisdom,  in 
usefulness,  and  could  scarcely  fail  to  have  some  con- 
sciousness of  the  fact ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  grew 
in  his  perception  of  the  strictness  and  spirituality  of 
the  Divine  law,  and  thus  there  was  always  maintained 
the  same  relative  distance  between  his  attainments 
and  the  mark  at  which  he  aimed. 

This  humility  was  rendered  more  remarkable  by 
the  circumstances  which  surrounded  him.     He  had  to 


136  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEK 

contend  not  only  -with  the  ordinary  temptations  to 
pride  arising  from  his  birth,  connections,  professional 
success,  and  personal  popularity,  but  also  with  the 
keener  and  more  insidious  allurements  suggested  by 
the  general  recognition  of  his  position  as  a  prominent 
Christian  leader.  This  recognition  came  before  him 
in  various  ways,  in  his  presence  on  the  platform,  by 
letter,  in  the  public  prints,  and  by  the  action  of  corpo- 
rate bodies,  as  well  as  in  ordinary  social  intercourse. 
When  expressed  in  gross  and  obvious  forms,  it  gave 
him  great  displeasure  and  encountered  severe  rebuke. 
Once,  in  Newark,  a  lady  who  belonged  to  the  Church 
he  served  as  elder  said  to  him,  "  I  went  to  the  prayer- 
meeting  this  morning  to  meet  you  and  hear  you  pray, 
and  you  were  not  there!"  With  mournful  severity 
he  replied,  "  Was  not  God  there  ?  I  thought  you  went 
to  meet  i7"m,"  Frequently,  at  j^ublic  meetings,  his 
countenance  has  testified  the  great  pain  he  felt  in  be- 
ing obliged  to  sit  and  listen  to  personal  adulation. 
On  one  of  these  occasions,  the  offensive  speaker,  after 
the  exercises  were  ended,  called  at  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's  house,  and  immediately  received  a  severe  re- 
proof, in  which  the  good  man  declared,  with  godly 
sorrow  and  deep  humility,  that  such  utterances  dese- 
crated God's  house  and  service,  and  were  very  abhor- 
rent to  all  his  feelings.  The  unanimous  testimony  of 
all  who  were  in  occasional  or  habitual  intercourse 
with  him  is  that  they  never  saw  any  appearance  of 
elation  in  his  deportment  or  conversation.  Whether 
he  had  such  feelings  only  the  Searcher  of  hearts  can 
say,  but  that  he  never  manifested  them  is  very  certain. 
Growing  honors  seemed  only  to  drive  him  back  closer 


CHARACTER  OF  HIS   PIETY.  137 

to  the  mercj-seat.  The  praise  of  men  only  made  him 
more  sensible  how  little  he  deserved  the  praise  of 
God,  And  so  it  continued  through  life.  As  the  full 
head  of  ripened  grain  bends  lower  than  the  immature 
or  empty  stalk,  so  he,  in  the  maturity  of  his  years  and 
fame,  bowed  only  the  more  humbly  in  his  Maker's 
presence.  To  the  last  he  received  the  kingdom  of 
God  "as  a  little  child."  He  had  nothing,  he  was 
nothing,  but  Christ  was  all  and  in  all. 

This  trait  was  so  marked  in  him  that  it  attracted 
the  attention  and  admiration  even  of  worldly  men. 
It  is  said  that  the  celebrated  John  Eandolph,  of  Eo- 
anoke,  once  speaking  in  his  sarcastic  way  of  certain 
pretenders  to  righteousness,  suddenly  turned  to  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  and  pointing  toward  him,  said,  "  This 
man  does  not  boast  of  religion,  but  he  has  it,  he  has 
it." 

Perhaps  there  never  lived  a  more  unassuming  man. 
He  never  struggled  for  pre-eminence  any  where  or  in 
any  relation.  The  civil  honors  or  offices  bestowed 
upon  him  were  in  all  cases  unsolicited,  even  where 
they  were  such  as  might  be  justly  esteemed  the  wor- 
thy aims  of  an  honorable  ambition.  The  same  re- 
mark is  true  in  reference  to  academic,  social,  or  relig- 
ious distinctions.  All  came  to  him  without  the  least 
hint  or  suggestion  on  his  part.  He  had  successfully 
schooled  himself  to  obey  the  apostolic  injunctions, 
"In  honor  preferring  one  another;"  "Let  each  esteem 
other  better  than  himself."  Habitually  he  deferred 
to  others,  not  through  weakness,  cowardice,  or  a  de- 
sire to  escape  responsibility,  but  from  a  desire  in  this 
way  to  illustrate  and  adorn  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 


138  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Some  have  deemed  that  he  pushed  this  rare  and  ami- 
able trait  to  an  excess,  so  that  it  became  a  weakness. 
Yet  this  may  well  be  doubted.  When  circumstances 
required,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  stood  firm  as  a  rock  in 
support  of  a  principle  or  a  duty,  but  in  all  cases  where 
only  personal  considerations  were  concerned  he  re- 
garded the  rule,  "Let  every  one  of  us  please  his  neigh- 
bor for  his  good  to  edification,"  and  imitated,  as  far  as 
mortal  man  could,  the  example  of  Him  of  whom  it  is 
written,  "  For  even  Christ  pleased  not  himself."  It  is 
hard  for  those  who  knew  his  dignity,  independence, 
firmness,  and  courage,  to  conceive  how  his  close  fof 
lowing  of  his  Divine  Master  in  this  most  difficult  and 
characteristic  grace  could  degenerate  into  an  infirmi- 
ty, or  be  confounded  with  the  timidity  which  surren- 
ders honest  convictions  out  of  an  unbecoming  defer- 
ence to  the  opinion  or  will  of  others. 

3.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  faith  and  humility  were  nur- 
tured by  his  life -long  habits  of  devotion.  He  was 
by  eminence  a  man  of  prayer.  It  was  his  "  native 
breath."  He  not  only  felt  it  as  a  necessity,  but  re- 
joiced in  it  as  a  privilege.  In  the  busiest  period  of 
his  life,  when  worldly  cares  pressed  hardest  upon  him, 
it  was  his  custom  to  imitate  the  Psalmist,  who  said, 
"Evening  and  morning,  and  at  noon,  will  I  pray." 
His  profession  and  his  practice  corresponded  here  as 
beautifully  as  they  did  in  other  matters.  At  an  ear- 
ly period  of  his  Christian  course  he  formed  the  hab- 
it of  devoting  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  middle  of 
the  day  to  prayer.  And  this  he  never  relinquished. 
Sometimes  circumstances  prevented  him  from  retiring 
to  his  closet  at  the  exact  time,  but  the  service  was  not 


CHARACTER  OF  HIS   PIETY.  139 

therefore  omitted.  The  earliest  subsequent  leisure  he 
could  command,  even  if  it  did  not  occur  before  night- 
fall, was  carefully  appropriated  to  the  purpose.  And 
it  is  believed  that  this  devotional  service  was  not  in- 
termitted even  once  in  the  course  of  more  than  forty 
years.  It  may  be  added  here  that  his  custom  was,  in 
his  private  devotions,  to  pray  aloud,  because,  as  he 
said,  he  found  it  the  best  way  to  prevent  wandering 
thoughts.  Eobcrt  Hall,  who  had  the  same  habit  of 
oral,  audible  private  prayer,  pursued  it  from  the  con- 
viction "that  silent  prayer  was  apt  to  degenerate  into 
meditation,  while,  from  our  compound  nature,  a  man 
can  not  but  be  affected  by  the  sound  of  his  own  voice 
when  adequately  expressing  what  is  really  felt."  Nor 
was  he  a  stranger  to  the  custom  of  observing  extraor- 
dinary and  protracted  seasons  of  prayer,  accompanied 
with  abstinence  from  food.  The  notion  which  obtains 
so  extensively  in  our  day  that  fasting,  when  enjoined 
by  the  Scriptures,  is  to  be  understood  figuratively,  and 
does  not  involve  the  omission  of  a  single  meal,  did 
not  commend  itself  to  his  old-fashioned  piety.  Al- 
though no  ascetic,  and  no  believer  in  the  propriety  of 
bodily  mortification  for  its  own  sake,  he  yet  cherish- 
ed occasional  fasting  as  an  appropriate  expression  of 
a  penitential  spirit,  and  an  admirable  help  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  a  devotional  frame  of  mind.  It  need  hard- 
ly be  added  that  this  was  always  done,  so  far  as  possi- 
ble, in  such  a  way  that  he  would  "not  seem  unto  men 
to  fast." 

His  prayerfulness  was  intimately  connected  with 
the  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  This  study  was  con- 
ducted, not  as  a  philological  exercise,  nor  to  solve  the- 


/ 


140  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

ological  problems,  nor  to  refresh  liis  taste  with  the 
highest  models  of  literary  excellence,  but  as  a  means 
of  his  own  growth  in  grace.  One  who  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  his  household  writes  to  the  author 
as  follows:  "From  every  thing  he  turned  with  new 
interest  to  the  Bible.  I  never  knew  so  constant  a  stu- 
dent of  it — not  as  a  duty,  but  from  real  pleasure.  So 
that  I  often  said  to  him,  '  Uncle,  you  must  know  it 
by  heart.'  'Oh  no,'  he  would  say,  'I  see  new  beau- 
ties every  time  I  open  it.'  He  was  in  the  habit,  as 
long  as  I  can  remember,  of  taking,  after  dinner,  his 
Bible  and  a  little  manual  of  prayer,  and  spending  half 
an  hour  or  more  in  reading.  So  a  little  text-book 
of  Scripture  was  laid  near  his  best  razor,  and  I  don't 
believe  he  would  have  considered  the  shaving  proper- 
ly done  without  the  morning's  text  to  meditate  upon." 
Another  intimate  acquaintance  says,  "  He  studied  the 
Scripture  with  ever  new  delight.  Its  style,  he  used 
to  say,  was  the  perfection  of  beauty  and  simplicity. 
It  was  no  unusual  thing  to  see  him  reading  the  Word 
throughout  a  long  winter  evening,  never  taking  up 
any  other  book,  although  many  were  lying  beside  him 
on  the  table." 

It  was  this  habit  of  constant  devotional  study  of  the 
Scripture  which  caused  his  uniform  spiritually-mind- 
edness.  There  were  seasons  when  his  nervous  tem- 
perament, or  the  irritability  caused  by  bodily  disease, 
led  him  to  speak  with  what  afterward  seemed  to  be 
undue  harshness;  but  this  never  occurred  without 
giving  him  infinite  grief  in  the  retrospect,  and  send- 
ing him  anew,  with  strong  crying  and  tears,  to  the 
mercy-seat.     In  every  emergency  of  every  kind,  as 


CHARACTER   OF   HIS   PIETY.  141 

well  as  on  set  occasions  from  day  to  day,  he  resorted 
to  the  Bible  and  prayer.  In  the  one  Grod  spoke  to 
him,  in  the  other  he  spoke  to  God ;  and  this  unbroken 
communion  with  the  Most  High  lay  at  the  foundation 
of  his  extremely  thorough  Christian  character.  It 
continually  refreshed  him  when  worn  and  wearied  by 
professional  toil.  It  kept  him  from  being  absorbed  in 
temporal  duties  and  interests.  It  enabled  him  to  car- 
ry a  heavenly  temper  into  all  the  scenes  and  associa- 
tions of  daily  life.  This  was  very  apparent  in  his 
treatment  of  such  as  trespassed  on  his  rights  or  feel- 
ings. He  rarely  manifested  displeasure,  although  his 
sensibility  was  keen ;  and  when  he  did,  was  always 
ready  and  eager  to  accept  any  explanation  and  extend 
the  most  cordial  forgiveness.  A  friend  once  said  to 
him,  "  I  have  forgiven  the  offense,  but  can't  forget  it." 
His  answer  was,  "  That  kind  of  forgiveness  will  not 
bear  the  light  of  heaven.  You  are  deceiving  your- 
self." He  once  received  a  letter,  written  under  a  mis- 
taken sense  of  duty,  the  contents  of  which  wounded 
him  deeply.  After  his  death  that  letter  was  found 
among  his  papers,  bearing  this  endorsement  in  his  own 
handwriting:  'And  be  ye  kind  to  one  another,  ten- 
der-hearted, forgiving  one  another,  even  as  Grod,  for 
Christ's  sake,  hath  forgiven  you." 

4.  Yet  his  piety  was  of  a  decidedly  genial  cast. 
"With  all  its  strictness  and  spirituality,  it  never  degen- 
erated into  sanctimoniousness  or  gloom.  Naturally 
of  a  buoyant  temperament,  with  a  large  capacity  for 
mirth  and  innocent  enjoyment,  these  qualities  were 
enhanced  and  refined  by  the  grace  which  was  in  him. 
He  had  his  trials  indeed,  and  there  was  one  source  of 


142  LIFE   OF  FEELLNGHUYSEN. 

anxious  tliouglit,  to  wliicli  I  shall  advert  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter,  which  he  carried  with  him  through 
life;  but  these  were  borne  with  patience  and  meek- 
ness of  wisdom ;  nor  did  they  hinder  him  from  being, 
in  the  main,  a  serene,  happy  Christian.  Sometimes 
ill  health  and  other  similar  causes  depressed  his  spir- 
its, but,  in  general,  the  habit  of  his  mind  was  a  play- 
ful gayety,  which,  so  far  from  being  extinguished, 
was  rather  heightened  and  purified  by  his  religious 
faith  and  hope.  There  was  nothing  sour  or  morose 
about  him.  He  delighted  in  the  play  of  the  social 
and  domestic  affections.  He  enjoyed  the  society  of 
kindred  and  friends.  Having  hinaself  a  vein  of  hu- 
mor and  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  he  greatly  rel- 
ished those  qualities  in  others,  and  his  contagious 
laugh  quickly  responded  to  any  amusing  tale.  And 
this  is  one  cause  why  the  young  always  found  him 
such  an  agreeable  companion.  But  while  thus  cheer- 
ful, it  was  always  in  reason  and  moderation.  The 
proprieties  of  time  and  place  were  sedulously  regard- 
ed, and  even  amid  sallies  of  mirth  and  sparkling  jests 
there  was  an  under  tone  of  seriousness  such  as  becom- 
eth  saints. 

His  faith,  concurred  with  his  constitutional  pecul- 
iarities to  maintain  this  pleasant,  attractive  type  of 
character.  He  was  accustomed  to  seek  for  and  ob- 
serve the  hand  of  Providence  in  all  the  events  of  life, 
and  therefore  found  a  double  charm  in  every  tempo- 
ral blessing,  while  he  had  a  sure  resource  in  the  time 
of  trial  or  disaster.  Besides,  he  had  in  his  own  soul 
the  peace  which  passeth  understanding.  He  enjoyed 
the  service  of  God.     The  Divine  thoughts  were  pre- 


CHAEACTER  OF   HIS   PIETY.  143 

cious  to  him.  His  meditations  on  sacred  themes  were 
often  very,  very  sweet.  And  so  the  joy  of  the  Lord 
was  the  strength  of  his  soul.  Men  found  in  him  an 
unbending  integrity  which  commanded  respect,  but 
also  a  refined  humanity  which  won  their  affection. 
His  life  showed  that  the  most  inflexible  adherence  to 
the  rule  of  right  did  not  require  the  abridgment  of  a 
single  rational  pleasure. 

5.  Tenderness  of  conscience  was  another  eminently 
characteristic  feature  of  his  piety.  He  carried  his 
Christian  principles  into  every  walk  of  life.  He  re- 
garded all  things  from  a  religious  point  of  view,  and 
conscience  maintained  a  supreme  and  unchallenged 
dominion  over  his  entire  course.  His  one  great  desire 
in  things  small  and  great,  public  or  private,  was  to  do 
what  was  right.  Few  men  have  ever  lived  who  so 
carefully  and  constantly  canvassed  the  correctness  of 
their  deportment  in  every  minute  particular.  ISTor 
did  this  degenerate  into  scrupulosity,  a  morbid  sensi- 
tiveness which  makes  offenses  where  none  really  ex- 
ist, and  poisons  peace  without  promoting  holiness. 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  piety  was  too  intelligent  and 
healthy  to  waste  its  energies  on  chimeras.  Yet  it  was 
studiously  careful  in  respect  to  real  difficulties.  He 
was  not  content  with  first  impressions  or  hasty  con- 
clusions, but,  as  if  well  aware  of  the  unequaled  de- 
ceitfulness  of  the  heart,  subjected  acts  and  motives  to 
the  most  rigid  ordeal,  so  as  to  preserve  a  conscience 
void  of  offense  toward  God  and  toward  man.  He  was 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all  the  day  long,  and  lived  "as 
ever  in  his  great  Taskmaster's  eye." 

The  consequence  was  an  unparalleled  rectitude  of 


144  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN". 

life,  such  a  degree  of  blameless  integrity  as  excited 
the  amazement  and  admiration  of  all  who  knew  him. 
An  instance  or  two  may  be  mentioned  as  illustrations. 
He  was  very  fond  of  game,  which  was  regularly  sup- 
plied to  him  by  an  old  colored  man  named  York ;  but 
when  York  sent  any  at  the  time  when  the  law  of  the 
land  forbade  them  to  be  killed,  no  persuasion  could 
prevail  upon  him  to  eat  them.  Even  during  his  last 
sickness,  when  his  appetite  was  delicate  and  capricious, 
and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  obtain  any  food  which 
he  could  take,  his  reverence  for  law  prevailed,  and  the 
quails  which  had  been  provided  were  sent  away  un- 
touched. These  were  little  things,  but  they  were  such 
trifles  as  indicate  character.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  un- 
bending rule  of  right  recognized  no  distinction  of 
great  and  small  in  moral  questions. 

6.  Another  feature  of  his  piety  was  its  completeness. 
It  was  in  no  respect  fragmentary,  or  fitful,  or  one- 
sided, but  full-orbed — a  complete,  rounded  whole.  In 
the  case  of  most  believers,  it  is  certain  features  of  their 
character,  or  particular  portions  of  their  lives  upon 
which  the  thoughts  of  their  friends  love  to  linger,  and 
from  which  incitements  to  Christian  excellence  may 
draw  an  animating  example.  But  it  was  not  so  with 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen.  His  whole  course,  from 
first  to  last,  was  of  one  texture.  Fervid  as  his  piety 
was,  it  never  ran  into  enthusiastic  extravagance.  Act- 
ive as  he  was  in  any  one  form  of  Christian  duty  or 
beneficence,  he  never  forgot  that  there  were  others. 
No  one  trait  in  his  character  stands  out  so  prominent- 
ly as  to  dwarf  all  the  rest  in  comparison,  but  the  en- 
tire sisterhood  of  Christian  graces  seemed  to  grow  to- 


CHAEACTER  OF   HIS   PIETY.  145 

gether,  mutually  supporting  each,  other,  and  consti- 
tuting, in  their  combined  effect,  the  exquisite  symme- 
try and  fullness  of  the  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus. 
More  than  thirty  years  ago,  that  shrewd  observer  of 
men  and  manners,  the  Eev.  Dr.  James  "W.  Alexander, 
wrote  from  Trenton,  N.  J.,  to  a  friend,  "  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  is  here  at  this  time,  full  of  the  subject  of  Tem- 
perance. He  is  a  singular  instance  of  a  man  zealous- 
ly devoted  to  every  good  enterprise,  without  the  slight- 
est eccentricity." 

There  were,  of  course,  defects  in  his  walk,  infirmi- 
ties which  cost  him  many  a  tear;  but,  despite  these, 
there  was  that  in  him  which  brings  up  vividly  to 
mind  Mr.  Clay's  descriptive  epithet  that  he  was  "  self- 
poised."  He  passed  through  seasons  of  religious  awak- 
ening when  whole  communities  were  bowed  by  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit,  and  he  himself  was  deeply 
moved ;  he  engaged  in  schemes  of  social  and  personal 
amelioration  very  absorbing  to  a  humane  or  Christian 
mind ;  he  was  closely  allied  with  organizations  litera- 
ry, charitable,  and  religious,  which  are  prone  to  en- 
gross all  the  thoughts  of  their  agents  and  advocates ; 
but  he  never  appeared  to  swing  from  his  moorings,  or 
lose  the  admirable  balance  of  his  character.  Every 
where,  and  at  all  times,  he  was  an  humble,  earnest 
Christian,  sweetly  blending  contemplation  and  action, 
full  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  abounding  in  the 
graces  which  are  distinctively  evangelical,  yet  without 
rant  or  cant,  without  turbulence  or  rashness,  filling  the 
position  the  Lord  had  assigned  him  without  encroach- 
ing on  others,  happy  when  success  crowned  his  efforts, 
yet  never  bitter  or  impatient  because  of  delay  or  failure. 

G 


146  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

His  piety  was  not  absolutely  complete,  but  it  made 
as  near  an  approach  to  that  excellence  as  the  present 
generation  has  seen. 

7.  Many  who  saw  Mr.  Frelinghuy sen's  Christian  ex- 
cellence only  at  a  distance,  or  knew  it  only  by  report, 
have  supposed  that  he  made  an  exceptional  case  to 
the  ordinary  lot  of  believers ;  that  he  had  some  spe- 
cial facilities,  some  happy  peculiarities  of  constitution, 
which  rendered  holy  living  easy  and  natural  to  him. 
This  is  far  from  being  the  case.  His  piety  was  the 
fruit  of  assiduous  culture.  He  had  difi&culties  to  con- 
tend with  both  within  and  without.  Although  natu- 
rally of  an  amiable  disposition,  and  from  early  youth 
possessed  of  an  active  and  sensitive  conscience,  yet  he 
had  native  infirmities  of  temper  and  temperament 
which  it  required  a  constant  struggle  to  subdue.  His 
own  experience  gave  him  insight  into  the  inward  con- 
test between  flesh  and  spirit,  sense  and  faith,  so  often 
alluded  to  in  the  apostolic  epistles.  He  needed  to 
watch,  and  fight,  and  pray  as  much  as  the  weakest  or 
obscurest  believer  in  the  land.  He  used  the  various 
means  of  grace,  private,  social,  and  public,  with  ea- 
gerness and  constancy,  as  one  to  whom  they  were  not 
only  attractive,  but  necessary.  The  care  with  which 
he  sought  to  benefit  by  the  preaching  of  the  "Word  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  uniformly,  on  returning 
home  from  public  worship,  retired  to  his  room  to  pray 
for  a  blessing  upon  the  service.  He  studied  his  own 
heart,  he  learned  by  experience,  he  guarded  against 
temptation,  he  gave  all  diligence  to  make  his  calling 
and  election  sure.  He  was,  in  the  old  sense  of  the 
term,  a  painful  Christian ;  that  is,  one  who  took  pains 


CHARACTER   OF  HIS   PIETY.  147 

to  reach  and  preserve  a  high  standard  of  character. 
His  exquisite  consistency,  and  purity,  and  maturity 
were  not  the  result  of  some  happy  accident  or  of 
some  semi -miraculous  endowment,  but  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  seed  planted,  watered,  and  ripened  un- 
der the  blessing  of  the  Good  Spirit.  No  help  toward 
a  close  walk  with  God  was  so  small  that  he  did  not 
diligently  use  it;  no  temptation  or  infirmity  was  so 
trifling  that  he  did  not  deplore  and  fight  against  it. 
If  there  be  a  royal  road  to  eminent  holiness,  assured- 
ly he  did  not  walk  in  it ;  on  the  contrary,  his  route 
was  through  the  strait  gate  and  on  the  narrow  way, 
with  many  a  cross  and  many  a  conflict.  It  would  be 
sad  were  the  lustre  of  his  course  and  character  to 
blind  any  to  the  incessant  vigilance  and  effort  by 
which,  with  the  Divine  favor,  he  obtained  such  good 
report  among  the  people  of  God. 

The  reader  will  observe  a  remarkable  confirmation 
of  many  of  the  foregoing  statements  in  the  following 
letter  from  the  Eev.  Dr.  Woodbridge,  professor  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Eeformed  Dutch  Church, 
written  at  the  author's  request : 

"  New  Brunswick,  September  3, 1862. 

"Dear  Brother, — For  nine  years  immediately 
preceding  the  death  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  I  was 
brought  into  near  relations  with  him,  chiefly  as  his 
pastor,  and  during  all  this  time  I  had  increasing  con- 
viction that  there  was  in  him,  to  a  remarkable  degree, 
the  elements  which  constitute  greatness  in  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

"  The  feature  of  his  character  which  first  struck  a 
stranger  aware  of  his  position  and  national  reputation 
was  his  extreme  simplicity.     He  ill^ustrated  more  ful- 


148  LIFE  OF  FKELINGHUYSEN. 

ly  than  any  man  I  ever  knew  tlie  language  of  Christ, 
that  he  who  would  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  must 
become  'as  a  little  child.'  His  prayers,  his  addresses, 
his  intercourse  with  Christians,  all  partook  of  this 
childlike  spirit.  It  was  not  assumed,  but  seemed  per- 
fectly natural,  an  essential  part  of  his  character.  Nor 
did  it  give  to  him  any  appearance  of  weakness.  The 
language  he  uttered  might  be  pure  and  simple,  but 
the  thoughts  were  the  great  revelations  of  the  Gospel 
of  God.  He  seemed  to  be  entirely  unconscious  of 
possessing  any  remarkable  degree  of  grace ;  upon  the 
contrary,  he  constantly  manifested  a  profound  humili- 
ty. He  appeared  to  be  deeply  sensible  of  the  plague 
of  his  own  heart — so  sensible  of  it  that  not  unfre- 
quently,  while  the  light  that  was  in  him  was  shining 
forth  so  that  all  saw  it,  and  many  were  rejoicing  in 
his  pious  words  and  generous  acts,  he  was  doubting 
whether  the  enlightening  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
grace  had  ever  entered  his  heart.  His  clear  and  ha- 
bitual views  of  the  greatness  and  holiness  of  God 
seemed  to  repress  and  banish  self-confidence  and  spir- 
itual pride.  He  shrank  from  adulation ;  he  was  afraid 
of  self-righteousness  as  a  foe  to  his  peace  and  to  God ; 
and  even  in  his  last  sickness,  when  one  recalled  to  his 
memory  the  useful  life  he  had  lived,  he  begged  all 
present  to  remember  that  he  was  the  chief  of  sinners. 
Not  one  ray  would  he  detract,  even  in  thought,  from 
the  glory  of  God's  grace. 

"  One  could  not  be  with  him  long  without  discover- 
ing liow  strong  loas  his  faith.  The  time  for  reasoning 
and  doubt  had  long  since  passed  away.  Christianity 
was  not  2^ut  on,  but  was  interwoven,  as  it  were,  with 
all  the  faculties  of  his  mind  and  heart — with  his  very 
being;  it  spoke  out  spontaneously  in  his  language; 
the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God  entered  wholly  into 
all  his  conceptions  and  plans  of  life.  I  often  felt, 
when  with  him,  how  utterly  impossible  it  would  be 
for  any  power  on^carth  to  shake  his  faith  in  the  Word 


CHARACTER  OF  HIS  PIETY.  149 

of  God ;  he  '  seemed  to  be  a  pillar'  in  tlie  house  of 
the  Lord ;  his  heart  was  fixed ;  he  might  have  con- 
flicts, but  he  could  no  more  fall  away  from  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ  than  from  any  other  essential  condition 
of  human  existence.  This  impression  arose,  I  think, 
from  the  spontaneousness  with  which  he  uttered  the 
language  of  the  Christian. 

"  I  have  more  than  once  admitted  the  exceeding 
clearness  of  his  views  of  truth.  To  many  of  the  mod- 
ern works  of  error  he  had  evidently  given  no  special 
reading,  but  it  was  in  vain  that  any  errorist  attempted 
to  deceive  him.  As  if  by  a  kind  of  Christian  instinct, 
his  soul  refused  to  receive  any  thing  but  the  pure 
milk  or  the  strong  meat  of  the  Lord.  He  did  not  love 
controversy,  but  he  detected  in  a  moment  what  was 
contrary  to  sound  doctrine,  and  without  censorious- 
ness,  with  a  few  simple  words,  usually  drawn  from 
Scripture,  he  set  aside  the  fallacy. 

"  That  a  beautifully  consistent  life  should  flow  from 
such  a  faith  was  a  necessity.  Of  his  constant  study 
of  the  Scripture  in  his  home,  and  his  long  communings 
with  God,  there  are  friends  enough  to  testify.  In 
public  he  was  where  duty  called  him,  among  the  first 
at  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  and  lecture,  frequently 
speaking  words  of  kindly  Christian  warning  to  such 
as  had  no  hope,  not  only  to  the  students  in  the  col- 
lege, but  to  the  thoughtless  in  the  street,  and  irrespect- 
ive of  their  condition  in  society ;  and  where  the  honor 
of  Christ  was  concerned,  I  verily  believe,  never  fear- 
ing the  face  of  man  ;  ever  ready  to  relieve  the  dis- 
tressed, to  comfort  the  mourner,  to  advise  the  doubt- 
ing. He  was  a  true  man,  in  every  respect  true,  in 
word  never  exaggerating;  in  action,  in  all  his  life, 
■conscientious  to  a  degree  that  often  occasioned  remark. 
He  was  kind  and  gentle,  one  who  attracted  to  con- 
fidence, and  to  whom  you  would  go  in  the  day  of 
trouble.  I  have  many  a  time  thought  that,  were  a 
skeptic  to  ask  for  the  living  testimony  of  the  power 


150  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

of  the  Gospel  on  the  heart  and  life  of  man  to  make 
him  true,  and  honest,  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report, 
I  would  point  him  to  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  and 
ask  an  explanation  of  such  a  life  and  death.  His 
path  was  that  of  the  just,  shining  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day, 

"  Yours  in  the  Gospel,  S.  M.  "Woodbridge." 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  151 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

HIS   RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

At  Home — at  the  Bar — in  "Washington — in  Church  Relations — Sun- 
day-school.— Charity. — Catholicity  of  Feeling. 

The  piety,  the  origin  and  leading  features  of  which, 
have  just  been  described,  manifested  itself  in  every 
appropriate  way  in  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  life.  It  con- 
trolled his  entire  conduct  at  home  and  abroad,  in  pri- 
vate and  in  public.  Gentle,  and  courteous,  and  con- 
ciliating, he  yet  never  shrank  from  carrying  out  his 
principles  to  the  very  letter.  Whatever  it  might  cost, 
he  stood  immovably  for  the  right,  not  only  as  a  man 
of  integrity  and  honor,  but  as  a  disciple  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

He  was  careful,  in  accordance  with  the  apostolic 
precept,  "to  show  piety  at  home."  Having  no  chil- 
dren, he  adopted  a  nephew  and  niece  of  his  own,  also 
a  nephew  of  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen,  who  continued  with 
him  until  they  were  settled  in  life.  Besides  these,  he 
took  a  paternal  interest  in  the  numerous  children  of 
his  brothers  and  sisters  and  those  of  his  wife,  all  of 
whom  were  cordially  welcomed  to  his  house,  and  re- 
ceived his  best  aid  and  counsel  in  their  temporal  and 
their  spiritual  interests.  Although  always  free  from 
nepotism  in  any  ofi&cial  trust,  he  never  forgot  the 
claims  of  kindred,  but  held  his  heart  and  hand  open 
to  them  as  a  sacred  duty. 


152  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

He  was  "  given  to  hospitality,"  and  being  a  gener- 
ous liver,  as  far  from  asceticism  as  he  was  from  riotous 
prodigality,  he  delighted  to  gather  congenial  associ- 
ates around  his  table.  The  company  was  always  a 
cheerful  one.  The  refined  courtesy,  buoyant  spirits, 
and  genial  tact  of  the  host  and  hostess,  put  all  at  their 
ease,  and  made  old  and  young  equal  participants  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  occasion.  Yet,  with  all  this,  the 
household  was  a  Christian  one.  Not  only  did  the  fire 
never  go  out  on  the  domestic  altar,  but  there  was  a 
pervading  sense  of  holy  things  which  filled  the  house 
like  an  atmosphere,  and  shed  its  mellowing  influence 
on  even  the  commonest  relations  and  duties.  Here 
the  character  of  the  man  came  out  in  a  thousand  inci- 
dental ways,  indicating  his  largeness  of  heart,  his  sens- 
ibility, his  appreciation  of  social  excellence,  his  care- 
ful consideration  for  others,  his  benevolence  in  little 
things,  his  thankful  enjoyment  of  God's  temporal  good- 
ness, and  his  supreme  regard  for  the  Divine  will  in  all 
things.  His  domestic  life  was  a  picture  of  piety  with- 
out austerity,  of  purity  without  affectation.  The  voice 
of  rejoicing  and  salvation  was  heard  in  his  tabernacle. 
His  own  innocent  hilarity  was  contagious.  The  peace 
of  a  good  conscience,  and  the  love  of  man  springing 
from  the  love  of  God,  opened  and  expanded  every 
fountain  of  natural  affection,  and  sweetly  developed 
the  ordinary  contrasts  of  age,  sex,  and  character.  It 
is  said  that  the  skeptic  who  once  passed  a  week  in  the 
home  of  the  eminent  and  pious  London  physician,  Dr. 
Hope,  was  converted  by  the  beautiful  exhibition  of 
cheerful  godliness  which  he  there  witnessed.  A  sim- 
ilar result  might  easily  have  been  produced  by  a  visit 


HIS  EELIGIOUS   LIFE.  153 

to  the  domestic  circle  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  His  pie- 
ty was  peculiarly  deep  and  spiritual,  but  it  was  in  no 
degree  sour  or  ungracious.  So  far  from  interfering 
with  mirth  or  social  enjoyment,  it  promoted  both,  and 
made  him  a  companion  as  agreeable  as  he  was  edify- 
ing to  persons  of  all  ages  and  classes. 

His  hospitality  had  its  foundation  not  only  in  social 
feeling,  but  in  Christian  principle,  the  Scripture  incul- 
cations of  the  duty  being  very  familiar  to  his  mind  and 
his  lips.  Agents  for  benevolent  institutions,  Christian 
laymen,  traveling  ministers  of  any  denomination,  al- 
ways found  a  welcome  at  his  house.  Sometimes  the 
influx  of  visitors  was  so  great  and  unexpected  that  it 
required  no  little  ingenuity  to  meet  the  demand,  but 
in  some  way  it  always  was  met.  The  sorrowful  and 
necessitous  so  often  found  a  temporary  asylum  in  his 
family,  that  a  lady  once  said,  "Why,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen is  making  his  house  a  house  of  refuge."  "Such," 
he  replied,  "I  would  have  it  to  be."  This  was  his  ha- 
bitual feeling,  although  at  the  very  time  he  was  under 
the  pressure  of  heavy  professional  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities, and  had  but  little  leisure  to  enjoy  the  society 
of  his  household.  If  the  thought  ever  arose  in  his 
mind  that  the  demands  upon  his  hospitality  were  rap- 
idly enlarging,  or  encroaching  upon  his  domestic  com- 
fort, he  instantly  put  it  down  with  the  remark  which 
he  was  often  heard  to  make,  "  I  may  be  entertaining 
angels  unawares." 

The  bar  is  not  usually  considered  favorable  to  the 

culture  of  the  Christian  graces.     Indeed,  a  high  legal 

authority  has  said,  "There  is  no  profession  in  which 

so  many  temptations  beset  the  path  to  swerve  from 

G2 


154  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEJSr. 

the  line  of  strict  integrity — in  which  so  many  delicate 
and  difficult  questions  are  continually  arising.  There 
are  pitfalls  and  mantrajDs  at  every  step ;  and  the  mere 
youth,  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  needs  often  the  pru- 
dence and  self-denial,  as  well  as  the  moral  courage, 
which  belong  commonly  to  ri]3er  years.  High  mor- 
al principle  is  his  only  safe  guide — the  only  torch 
to  light  his  way  amid  darkness  and  obstruction."* 
Popular  opinion,  indeed,  goes  farther  than  this,  and 
multitudes  seem  to  be  persuaded  not  only  that  the  le- 
gal profession  offers  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a 
pure  morality,  but  that  these  difficulties  are  rarely,  if 
ever,  surmounted.  Without  assenting  to  this  extrav- 
agant view,  it  may  yet  be  said  that  it  requires  a  con- 
stant struggle,  amid  all  the  excitements  and  perplex- 
ities of  a  large  practice,  to  maintain  an  unsullied 
Christian  character.  And  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  felt  this. 
When  a23pointed  attorney  general,  he  remarked,  as  one 
of  the  felicities  of  the  position,  that  it  relieved  him 
from  the  constant  pressure  of  a  client  at  his  elbow 
urging  him  to  go  farther  than  his  own  sense  of  right 
would  warrant.  Still,  difficult  as  it  was  to  maintain  a 
conscience  void  of  offense,  he  seems  habitually  to  have 
succeeded  in  the  effort.  He  happily  reconciled  his 
professional  and  his  Christian  duties.  The  growth  of 
his  practice  indi<cates  that  no  interest  suffered  that  was 
put  into  his  hands,  and  yet,  in  the  judgment  of  all  his 
contemporaries,  his  religious  integrity  was  without  a 
stain.  Indeed,  in  the  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Courtlandt  Par- 
ker, before  alluded  to,  it  is  said  that  "  his  consistent 
morality  in  his  profession,  his  scorn  for  petty  artifice 
♦Professional  Ethics,  by  Judge  Siiaeswood, Philadelphia,  1860. 


HIS   RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  155 

and  cbicanery,  liis  desire  to  settle  rather  than  protract 
disputes,  and  his  strict  integrity  in  the  conduct  of  legal 
difficulties,  won  for  him  such  a  reputation  for  honesty, 
that  his  brother  lawyers  soon  complained  that  juries 
would  believe  any  thing  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  contend- 
ed for  simply  because  he  did  so." 

His  old  classmate  and  friend,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Kirkpat- 
rick,  informs  the  author  that  he  once  asked  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen how  he  managed  to  keep  a  clear  con- 
science, seeing  he  must  sometimes  have  to  plead  in 
justification  of  the  rogue.  The  answer  "was,  "If  a  man 
comes  to  me  as  a  client,  I  catechise  him  as  much  as  I 
can.  If  I  think  him  in  the  wrong,  I  send  him  to  an- 
other lawyer.  If  I  believe  he  is  in  the  right,  I  do  all 
I  can  for  him."  But  it  is  perfectly  certain  that  this 
was  not  his  rule  in  later  life.  We  may  therefore  sup- 
pose that  his  mind  underwent  the  same  change  which 
is  recorded  by  Bishop  Burnet  respecting  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  a  man  whom  our  American  lawyer  greatly  re- 
sembled :  "  If  he  saw  a  cause  was  unjust,  he  for  a  great 
while  would  not  meddle  farther  in  it  but  to  give  his 
advice  that  it  ivas  so.  If  the  parties,  after  that,  would 
go  on,  they  were  to  seek  another  counselor,  for  he 
would  assist  none  in  acts  of  injustice.  If  he  found 
the  cause  doubtful  or  weak  in  point  of  law,  he  always 
advised  his  clients  to  agree  their  business.  Yet  after- 
ward he  abated  much  of  the  scurpulosity  he  had  about 
causes  that  appeared  at  first  unjust,  upon  this  occa- 
sion :  there  were  two  causes  brought  him,  which,  by 
the  ignorance  of  the  party  or  their  attorney,  were  so 
ill  represented  to  him  that  they  seemed  to  be  very 
bad ;  but  he,  inquiring  more  narrowly  into  them,  found 


156  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

I^liey  were  really  very  good  and  just.  So  after  this  he 
slackened  much  of  his  former  strictness  of  refusing  to 
meddle  in  causes  upon  the  ill  circumstances  that  ap- 
peared in  them  at  first." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  never  in  word  or  act  assented  to 
the  monstrous  dictum  of  Lord  Brougham,  that  "  an  ad- 
vocate, in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  knows  but  one 
pesron  in  all  the  world,  and  that  person  is  his  client." 
He  knew  and  performed  what  was  due  to  the  court, 
to  the  bar,  and  to  honor  and  justice,  as  well  as  what 
his  client  required.  At  the  same  time,  he  early  re- 
nounced what  Lord  Campbell  calls  "the  specious  but 
impracticable  rule  of  never  pleading  except  on  the 
right  side,  which  would  make  the  counsel  to  decide 
without  knowing  either  facts  or  law,  and  would  put 
an  end  to  the  administration  of  justice." 

He  was  studiously  careful  of  the  proprieties  of  the 
Christian  profession  in  his  ofl&ce  and  in  the  court-room. 
Once,  a  wealthy  client,  in  stating  his  case,  incautious- 
ly uttered  an  oath.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  immediately 
arose,  and  said  with  deep  feeling,  "  Sir,  if  you  use  such 
language  again,  I  will  immediately  throw  up  your 
case."     The  offense  was  not  repeated. 

When  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  transferred  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  he  was  subjected  to  a  still 
more  trying  ordeal.  Not  a  few  of  his  compeers  were 
either  hopelessly  ruined  or  sadly  injured  by  the  vices 
of  the  capital.  But  he  not  only  escaped  contamination 
from  prevailing  immoralities,  but  maintained  through- 
out his  whole  term  the  same  cheerful,  simple,  unob- 
trusive, but  uncompromising  godliness.  The  state  of 
his  mind,  even  at  a  time  of  the  very  highest  political 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  157 

excitement,  may  be  learned  from  some  extracts  from  a 
letter  written  to  his  brother  in  the  confidence  of  fra- 
ternal intercourse.     It  is  dated  December  18, 1832  : 

"  Your  letter  finds  us  in  good  health,  through  the 
blessing  of  our  heavenly  Father,  who  has  kindly  watch- 
ed over  us.  We  have  been  much  excited  here  by  the 
doings  of  South  Carolina.  She  seems  resolved  on 
dreadful  extremities.  The  President,  I  rejoice  to  per- 
ceive, meets  the  crisis  as  becomes  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  country.  But  still  our  situation  is  very  peril- 
ous. *  *  *  I  never  more  deeply  realized  our  en- 
tire dependence  on  God,  who  hath  the  hearts  of  rulers 
and  people  in  His  control,  who  buildeth  up  and  cast- 
eth  down.  May  we  look  to  His  infinite  riches  of  mer- 
cy and  grace,  and  bear  in  faith  the  interests  of  our  be- 
loved country  to  His  holy  keeping.  It  is  a  season  of 
peculiar  claim  on  the  Christian ;  he  has  an  interest 
with  a  prayer-hearing  God ;  and  if  the  Lord  leaves  us 
to  confusion  of  counsel,  and  to  the  curse  of  selfish  and 
ambitious  desires  and  purposes,  we  will  be  a  ruined 
people.     *     *     * 

"We  have  peculiar  trials  in  these  high  places  of 
fashion.  We  have  established  a  Congressional  pray- 
er-meeting on  Thursday  evening  weekly.  There  were 
eight  at  the  last  meeting.  More  than  twenty  have 
agreed  to  attend.  I  hope  to  be  strengthened  by  this 
waiting  upon  our  Father  and  Redeemer." 

The  Congressional  prayer -meeting  thus  modestly 
referred  to  was,  it  is  believed,  originated  by  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen.  Certainly  he  was  its  most  efficient  sup- 
porter during  his  senatorial  term.  To  him,  and  the 
late  Governor  Briggs,  of  Massachusetts,  and  others  of 


158  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

the  like  stamp,  it  was  a  great  source  of  comfort  and 
strength ;  nor  may  we  doubt  tliat  prayers  were  offer- 
ed there,  the  answers  to  which  brought  down  blessings 
upon  the  nation. 

Congressional  life  is  known  to  be  very  unfriendly 
to  the  maintenance  of  a  pure  and  spiritual  Christian 
character.  Men  ai'e,  for  a  large  portion  of  the  year,  re- 
moved from  their  homes  and  the  healthful  associations 
which  cluster  there.  They  are  embarked  upon  a  sea 
of  excitement  roused  by  purely  temporal  interests. 
As  members  of  a  political  partj^,  they  are  brought  into 
frequent  and  sometimes  close  contact  with  persons 
who,  however  eminent  for  other  attainments,  have  no 
religious  character.  They  are  often  solicited  to  engage 
in  pursuits  and  amusements  which  they  know  to  be 
inconsistent  with  a  good  conscience.  At  other  times 
they  encounter  flings  at  piety  and  scoffing  insinuations 
which  it  is  extremely  hard  to  bear.  Besides,  their  very 
devotion  to  what  they  deem  to  be  the  true  interests  of 
their  country  leads  to  a  stress  of  thought  and  feeling 
upon  worldly  things  which  is  apt  to  become  absorb- 
ing. Thus  there  is  a  variety  of  influences  concurring 
from  all  quarters  to  lower  the  tone  of  the  Christian's 
piety,  to  undermine  his  religious  habits,  to  lead  him 
away  from  communion  with  God,  and  to  bring  him 
down  to  the  level  of  mere  worldly  men.  It  is  one  of 
the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  life  at  Wash- 
ington that  he  was  enabled  to  resist  these  influences 
steadily  to  the  end.  He  knew  his  danger,  as  is  evident 
from  the  allusion  to  "peculiar  trials"  in  the  letter  to 
his  brother,  and  from  other  testimonies,  and  he  set  a 
double  watch  upon  himself.     Without  secluding  him- 


HIS   RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  159 

self  from  society,  or  neglecting  any  public  duty,  he 
yet  walked  unhurt  through  all  the  pollution  and  cor- 
ruption of  the  capital.  He  guarded  against  the  begin- 
nings of  evil.  He  was  more  inflexible  than  ever  in 
his  habits  of  devotion.  He  was  diligent  and  regular 
in  using  the  ordinances  of  worship,  whether  public  or 
social.  "While  he  never  paraded,  he  never  cloaked  his 
Christian  profession.  The  lustre  of  his  example  seems 
never  to  have  been  tarnished  in  a  single  instance. 
He  left  Washington  the  same  man  that  he  entered  it, 
or,  if  altered,  only  in  so  far  as  his  faith  was  ripened  by 
experience,  and  his  holy  living  confirmed  and  strength- 
ened by  trial. 

The  manifestations  of  his  piety  in  connection  with 
the  Church  were  very  decided  and  uniform.  For  for- 
ty-five years  he  was  a  professed  follower  of  the  Sav- 
ior, and  for  the  greater  part  of  that  time  held  the  of- 
ficial station  of  ruling  elder.  His  example  in  both 
these  relations  was  irreproachable.  He  was  a  devout 
and  regular  attendant  upon  the  means  of  grace,  both 
on  the  Lord's  day  and  during  the  week.  He  went  to 
the  assemblies  of  God's  people,  not  as  a  matter  of  form, 
nor  for  intellectual  entertainment,  nor  yet  as  a  mere 
discharge  of  duty,  but  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
righteousness.  He  could  appreciate  pulpit  ability  ;  he 
admired  eloquence,  logical  force,  originality,  research, 
power  of  illustration,  freshness  of  statement  in  his  min- 
isters ;  yet  his  great  desire  was  habitually  to  hear  the 
simple  truth,  to  be  built  up  and  stimulated  in  the  Di- 
vine life.  No  pastor  ever  had  a  more  intelligent,  at- 
tentive, and  sympathetic  hearer.  He  came  to  be  fed 
with  the  pure  milk  of  the  Word,  and,  so  long  as  this 


160  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEK 

was  given  without  dilution  and  without  afiectation,  hie 
was  satisfied. 

Owing  to  his  own  changes  of  residence  and  other 
circumstances,  he  became  the  parishioner  of  many  cler- 
gymen in  succession,  with  all  of  whom  he  maintained 
the  most  friendly  personal  relations.    He  was  studious 
of  their  comfort,  their  reputation,  and  their  sensibili- 
ties, delighting  to  serve  them  in  any  way  and  at  any 
time,  yet  careful  never  to  obtrude,  to  embarrass,  or  to 
oppress  by  the  appearance  of  condescension.    Among 
his  earlier  pastors  (from  1822  to  1833)  was  the  Kev. 
Dr.  Hay,  with  whom  he  preserved  a  very  close  and  af- 
fectionate intimacy  down  to  the  last  month  of  the  year 
1860,  when  death  sundered  the  tie  for  this  world.    Of 
his  later  pastors,  the  one  to  whom  he  was  most  attach- 
ed, and  whose  ministrations  he  most  enjoyed,  was  the 
Eev.  Dr.  De  Witt,  senior  minister  of  the  Collegiate 
Church,  New  York.     Yet  this,  perhaps,  was  owing, 
not  so  much  to  the  rare  gifts  and  natural  eloquence 
of  his  friend,  as  to  the  fine  simplicity  of  his  character, 
the  evangelical  richness  and  fervor  of  his  discourses, 
and  their  luminous  illustrations  of  all  phases  of  Chris- 
tian experience.     The  same  feeling  was  cherished  by 
his  elder  brother,  John,  in  an  equal  degree,  down  to 
the  day  of  his  death. 

He  took  particular  pleasure  in  social  meetings  for 
worship  on  the  evening  of  secular  days.  They  form- 
ed a  pleasant  interruption  to  the  constant  stream  of 
secular  engagements,  and  he  found  them  of  great  use 
in  fanning  and  preserving  the  flame  of  his  own  devo- 
tion. He  was  accustomed  to  lead  the  devotions  of 
others,  and  never  without  impressing  all  present  with 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  161 

his  humility,  and  reverence,  and  faith,  and  fervor. 
There  was  a  plaintiveness  in  his  tones,  and  a  subdued 
earnestness  in  his  manner,  which  rarely  failed  to  bear 
all  hearts  along  with  his  own  up  to  the  very  presence 
of  the  mercy-seat.  Not  unfrequently  he  would  use 
his  gifts  in  offering  remarks  in  the  course  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  always  to  edification.  He  spoke  because  he 
had  something  to  say,  and  he  said  it  with  simplicity 
and  directness. 

As  a  Church  officer  he  rendered  excellent  service. 
His  native  shrewdness,  insight,  and  practical  wisdom 
here  co-operated  with  his  single-hearted  devotion  to 
the  Master  to  render  him  invaluable  in  the  councils 
of  the  Church.  There  were  two  functions  of  the  eld- 
er's office  in  which  he  was  very  happy  and  useful. 
One  was  visiting  the  sick  and  sorrowing.  His  own 
delicate  sensibility  enabled  him  to  enter  into  the  feel- 
ings of  God's  afflicted  children,  and  he  delighted  to 
render  to  them  the  proper  offices  of  fraternal  Christian 
sympathy.  The  other  was  watching  for  peace.  He 
was  quick  to  perceive  alienations  and  difficulties  which 
threatened  to  mar  the  harmony  of  the  Church,  and 
was  wise  to  meet  them  (to  use  the  Eev.  Mr.  E.  Cheev- 
er's  words)  "  as  no  other  man  could,"  so  as  not  only  to 
remove  the  trouble,  but  even  promote  Christian  affec- 
tion between  the  parties.  The  blessing  pronounced 
upon  the  peace-makers  fell  richly  upon  his  head. 

But  he  was  a  man  of  action  as  well  as  counsel,  and 
engaged  with  energy  and  perseverance  in  every  good 
work.  From  the  first  he  took  great  interest  in  the  in- 
struction of  the  young.  During  the  whole  time  he 
was  connected  with  the  Second  Church  in  Newark,  he 


162  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUTSEN". 

was  superintendent  of  tlie  Sunday-school  attached  to 
it.  When  he  was  in  Washington,  he  regularly  taught 
a  class  every  Lord's  day,  and  frequently  made  the  as- 
sertion that  he  deemed  this  employment  more  truly 
honorable  than  the  high  of&cial  position  he  held  in 
the  Congress  of  the  nation.  After  coming  to  New 
York  in  1839  to  reside,  he  resumed  the  same  work, 
and  met,  in  the  church  where  he  worshiped,  a  Bible- 
class  of  young  men,  many  of  whom  attribute  their 
deepest  and  most  abiding  impressions  to  his  persua- 
sive counsels.  Along  with  this,  he,  especially  in  the 
latter  period  of  his  life,  performed  much  work  in  de- 
livering addresses  before  the  schools  of  other  church- 
es, or  at  anniversary  meetings.  At  a  time  when  no 
other  motive  than  the  desire  of  doing  good  could  have 
actuated  him,  he  made  considerable  sacrifices  of  time 
and  ease,  in  order  in  this  way  to  cheer  those  who  were 
engaged  in  this  important  form  of  Christian  benefi- 
cence. The  audience  might  be  gathered  in  a  rural 
church  or  a  retired  grove,  or  in  the  suburbs  of  a  city, 
but  he  was  equally  willing  there  or  any  where  else  to 
do  what  he  could  for  the  welfare  of  the  young ;  and  it 
could  be  said  of  him  as  it  was  of  his  Master,  that  the 
common  people  heard  him  gladly.  His  shining  con- 
sistency of  character,  added  to  his  former  profession- 
al and  political  distinction,  gave  to  all  that  he  said  a 
weight  and  power  not  easy  of  estimation ;  and,  al- 
though not  a  parent  himself,  his  life-long  experience 
in  the  Sunday-school,  and  his  rooted  convictions  of 
the  indispensable  importance  of  the  moral  training 
of  the  youth  to  the  stability  of  our  free  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  to  the  solid  growth  of  the  Church, 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  163 

enabled  him  to  speak  witli  a  peculiar  fervor  and  -unc- 
tion. 

But  while  thus  interested  for  the  spiritual  wants  of 
others,  he  was  not  less  concerned  for  their  temporal 
welfare.  His  hand  was  open  as  the  day  to  melting 
charity.  In  the  midst  of  the  most  exhausting  period 
of  his  practice  as  a  lawyer,  it  was  his  habit  to  spend  ev- 
ery Saturday  afternoon  in  searching  out  the  poor  and 
afflicted,  and  in  ministering  by  sympathy  as  well  as  by 
pecuniary  aid  to  their  necessities,  while  in  general  he 
spared  neither  time  nor  means  to  relieve  such  children 
of  sorrow  as  made  their  situation  known  to  him.  To 
the  ordinary  charities  of  the  times  which  are  adminis- 
tered by  formal  associations  he  was  a  regular  and  lib- 
eral contributor.  An  amusing  instance  of  this  is  re- 
lated by  some  who  knew  him  well.  He  once  heard  a 
discourse  upon  systematic  beneficence,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  enforce  upon  all  Christians  the  duty  of 
habitually  giving  to  the  Lord  at  least  one  tenth  of 
their  income,  and,  being  very  much  impressed  with  the 
argument,  determined  to  put  the  rule  in  practice.  He 
had  not  gone  far,  however,  before  he  found  that  this 
would  require  him  greatly  to  abridge  his  usual  chari- 
ties, for  these  had  far  exceeded  the  tithe  of  his  emol- 
uments. Indeed,  one  who  knew  him  well  said  that 
they  amounted  probably  to  the  half  of  his  income. 
"A  long  time  since  he  remarked  that,  in  view  of  the 
various  calls  of  the  Church,  '  Christians  might  well 
fear  to  be  rich.'  He  denied  himself  many  things  which 
other  Christians  of  less  means  allow  themselves,  and 
he  did  so  that  he  might  have  to  give  unto  others. 
When  one  spoke  to  him  upon  the  subject  of  increas- 


164  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

ing  his  comforts,  lie  replied  that  it  could  only  be  done 
by  increasing  tlie  necessities  of  others,  and  that  he 
dared  not  do." — Dr.  Campbell's  Funeral  Sermon. 

His  professional  labors  brought  him  a  very  large 
compensation.  These  gains  were  neither  hoarded  nor 
squandered,  but  lent  to  the  Lord  in  a  wise  and  liberal 
charity.  It  is  related  that,  when  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  Vice-presidency,  a  warm-hearted  Christian  wom- 
an said  to  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  nomi- 
nated him,  "  Ah !  sir,  you  have  indeed  done  a  good 
act  in  striving  to  elevate  that  man ;  he  has  been  '  eyes 
to  the  blind  and  feet  to  the  lame.' "  His  townsmen  in 
Newark  could  justly  pursue  the  quotation,  and  say, 
"  When  the  ear  heard  him,  then  it  blessed  him ;  and 
when  the  eye  saw  him,  it  gave  witness  to  him :  be- 
cause he  remembered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the  fa- 
therless, and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him.  The 
blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon 
him,  and  he  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy." 
Not  only  did  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  contribute  regularly 
to  public  charities  and  to  the  poor  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, but  he  also  took  pleasure  in  ministering  to  the 
comfort  of  many  whose  only  claim  upon  him  was  very 
remote ;  and  he  did  this  in  such  a  quiet  and  delicate 
way  that  the  fact  was  rather  inferred  than  known, 
even  by  the  inmates  of  his  household.  Into  what  ob- 
scure channels  his  constant  readiness  "  to  do  good  and 
communicate"  overflowed,  only  the  great  day  will  de- 
clare. 

Catholicity  of  spirit  was  an  eminent  feature  of  Mr. 
Frclinghuysen's  religious  life.  He  loved  all  Chris- 
tians who  hold  the  Head,  and  was  ready  to  manifest 


HIS   EELIGIOUS   LIFE.  165 

tliis  fraternal  affection  at  all  times  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, I  have  said  "all  who  hold  the  Head," 
for  this  was  a  discrimination  made  by  himself.  He 
clung  to  the  divinity  of  his  Lord  and  Savior  as  a  car- 
dinal point,  and  he  could  not  and  did  not  recognize  as 
brethren  in  faith  and  hope  any  who  degraded  the  Re- 
deemer into  a  mere  creature,  and  repudiated  His  aton- 
ing blood.  Such  an  error  he  regarded  as  vital,  and 
he  would  never  give  place,  no,  not  for  an  hour,  to  any 
who  held  the  ruinous  delusion.  But  within  this  ra- 
tional and  necessary  limit  his  recognition  of  all  be- 
lievers was  most  hearty  and  general,  and,  as  it  were, 
spontaneous.  His  liberality  was  not  the  fruit  of  in- 
difference, or  ignorance,  or  indiscretion,  but  of  an  in- 
telligent Christian  spirit,  which  could  overlook  minor 
differences  in  a  common  love  for  all  who  are  in  Christ 
Jesus.  He  cherished  a  warm  attachment  for  the  an- 
cestral Church  in  the  communion  of  which  he  began 
and  closed  his  days.  This  was  the  result  not  only  of 
hereditary  associations  peculiarly  strong  and  aifecting, 
but  also  of  a  discriminating  appreciation  of  her  doc- 
trine, and  order,  and  discipline,  and  spirit.  Hence, 
although  he  was  first  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Table  in 
a  Presbyterian  Church,  and  continued  long  and  hap- 
pily in  that  connection,  yet,  as  soon  as  Providence 
opened  the  way,  he  returned  with  alacrity  and  joy  to 
the  Church  of  his  fathers.  Hence,  too,  when,  but  a 
few  years  before  his  death,  that  Church  felt  itself  call- 
ed upon  to  carry  on  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions  in- 
dependently through  a  Board  of  its  own  appointment, 
and  summoned  him  to  preside  over  the  Board,  he 
promptly,  although  with  no  little  pain,  severed  the 


166  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

ties  whicli  bad  long  and  pleasantly  bound  bim  to  tbe 
American  Board,  and  obeyed  tbe  summons. 

Yet  bis  love  for  bis  own  brancb  of  tbe  one  great 
family,  wbile  it  was  fervent  and  settled,  resting  alike 
upon  tbe  convictions  of  bis  understanding  and  tbe  im- 
pulses of  bis  beart,  never  degenerated  into  narrowness 
or  bigotry.  His  expansive  affection  took  in  tbe  wbole 
Cburcb  of  tbe  redeemed.  Tbeir  interests  were  dear 
to  bis  beart.  He  rejoiced  in  tbeir  joy,  and  sorrowed 
in  tbeir  sadness.  He  was  ever  ready  to  aid  tbeir  en- 
terprises by  bis  counsel,  and  purse,  and  public  address- 
es. He  never  paraded  tbis  catbolicity  of  feeling.  Tbe 
reports  of  bis  numberless  addresses  before  various  be- 
nevolent associations  furnisb  no  instances  of  ostenta- 
tious assertion  of  superiority  to  denominational  pref- 
erences or  interests.  Prodesse  quam  conspici  marked 
bim  bere  as  elsewbere.  Tbat  absorbing  devotion  to 
Cbrist,  wbicb  made  bim  feel  tbe  wbole  world  of  Cbris- 
tians  to  be  of  kin  to  bim,  was  sbown  in  deed  ratber 
tban  in  word.  It  was  no  grace  cultivated  witb  spe- 
cial pains  for  an  occasion,  but  an  unconscious,  unstud- 
ied, instinctive  efflorescence  of  tbat  living  principle 
wbicb,  like  Elizabetb's  babe  in  tbe  presence  of  tbe 
motber  of  ber  Lord,  leaps  at  once  to  acknowledge 
Cbrist's  image  wberever  it  is  found,  and  bail  His  serv- 
ants wbatever  livery  tbey  bear. 

Hence  tbe  universal  and  spontaneous  recognition  of 
tbis  feature  of  Mr.  Frelingbuysen's  cbaracter  tbrougb- 
out  tbe  entire  Cbristian  community  in  tbis  country. 
Believers  of  every  name  claimed  a  common  property 
in  bim  as  a  living  representative  of  tbe  wbole  body. 
His  public  and  private  wortb,  bis  eminent  services, 


HIS   RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  167 

bis  steadfast  and  stainless  consistency,  his  infinite  re- 
move from  any  petty  denominational  selfishness  or  ex- 
clusiveness,  took  him  out  of  the  category  of  local  or 
denominational  luminaries,  and  gave  him  a  national 
and  catholic  position  in  the  view  of  all  the  evangelical 
churches  of  America.  Hence  he  was  for  years  called 
to  stand  at  the  head  of  not  only  one,  but  several  of  the 
great  national  societies  instituted  for  the  promotion  of 
religious  and  benevolent  interests  in  this  broad  land 
and  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Nor  was  the 
confidence  thus  reposed  in  him  ever  found  to  be  mis- 
placed. His  administration  of  the  trusts  confided  to 
him  was  such  in  every  case  as  successfully  to  chal- 
lenge criticism.  Perhaps  no  layman  has  ever  lived 
to  whom  all  classes  of  believers  would  so  readily  and 
cordially  point  as  a  fitting  representative  to  all  the 
world  of  the  best  features  and  highest  type  of  Amer- 
ican Christianity. 


168  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PEESONAL  EFFORTS  FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  MEN. 

Letter  to  Mr.  Lincoln. — Consultation  about  entering  the  Ministry. — 
Dr.  Spring's  Letter. — Assiduity  and  Skill  in  speaking  to  impenitent 
Persons. — Grounds  of  his  Success. — Letters. — Correspondence  with 
Mr. Clay;  with  Mr. Webster ;  Governor  Pennington ;  Judge  Nevi- 
us. — Letter  of  Judge  Chambers. — Other  Examples. — Words  of  J. 
P.  Jackson. — Perseverance. 

In  the  year  1853,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Wayland,  of  Provi- 
dence, delivered  a  discourse  in  Rochester  entitled  The 
Apostolic  Ministry,  which  excited  much  attention  at 
the  time,  and  was  afterward  widely  circulated  through 
the  press.  It  was  founded  upon  the  text.  Go  ye  into 
all  the  ivorld,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature ; 
and  the  preacher  undertook  to  show,  l.What  the  Gos- 
pel is ;  2.  What  is  meant  by  preaching  it ;  and,  3.  Who 
are  to  preach  it.  Three  fourths  of  the  sermon  are  oc- 
cupied in  discussing  the  last  point,  in  which  the  duty 
and  responsibility  of  laymen  in  proclaiming  the  Gos- 
pel message  are  stated  with  great  force  and  pungency. 
The  Hon.  Heman  Lincoln,  of  Boston,  sent  a  copy  of 
this  address  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  and  received  from 
him  the  following  reply : 

"  New  Brunswick,  January  8th,  1855. 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  duly  received  your  kind  note 
and  Dr.  Way  land's  excellent  thoughts  on  the  Apostol- 
ic Ministry.  I  have  read  this  address  with  special  in- 
terest, and  I  hope  much  profit.  Like  all  that  I  have 
seen  from  his  pen,  it  is  sound,  judicious,  and  of  high 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  169 

moral  excellence.  I  can  not  but  think  that  his  opin- 
ions on  the  duty  of  others  besides  '  ministers'  preach- 
ing will  yet  become  a  prevailing  sentiment  in  all  our 
churches.  How  else  shall  the  work  of  saving  men 
prosper,  as  prophecy  leads  us  to  believe  it  will?  I 
have  often  noted  the  case  of  the  man  possessed,  whom 
our  Savior  restored  to  his  right  mind.  ,His  desire  was 
to  remain  with  his  blessed  Benefactor ;  but  the  Lord 
sent  him  home  to  tell  how  great  things  God  had  done 
unto  him.  'And  he  went  his  way,  and  published 
throughout  the  whole  city  how  great  things  Jesus  had 
done  unto  him.'  Now  he  was  a  preacher,  and  an  ef- 
fective one  too,  for  the  people  marveled  at  his  words. 
And  the  woman  of  Samaria,  who  left  the  Savior  at  the 
well  and  went  into  the  city  to  report  of  the  wonderful 
Being  who  had  led  her  to  a  better  knowledge  of  her 
own  heart  and  life,  preached  also  to  good  purpose.  I 
suppose,  my  dear  sir,  that  while,  for  the  more  solemn 
duties  of  the  sanctuary  and  its  worship,  and  for  the 
governance  and  order  of  Christ's  Church,  the  ministers 
are  to  '  be  called'  and  set  apart,  yet  for  exhortation, 
and  prayer,  and  witnessing  for  the  truth,  and  warning 
sinners,  and  encouraging  the  trembling  believer,  we 
are  all  to  labor  for  Christ,  and  have  a  heart  and  a 
tongue  for  His  blessed  service. 

"  I  trust,  my  kind  friend,  that,  through  God's  good- 
ness, we  may  again  be  permitted  to  meet  at  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  House — a  precious  spot,  where  denomina- 
tional names  only  draw  brethren  more  closely  togeth- 
er in  the  sweet  bonds  of  love  and  unity. 

"  Very  truly  yours  in  the  best  relations, 

"Theo.  Frelinghuysen. 

"The  Hon.  H.Lincoln." 

This  letter  states  the  opinion  of  its  author  in  1855, 
but  it  was  not  then  formed  for  the  first  time.  It  had 
been  held  and  acted  upon  for  scores  of  years.  From 
an  early  period  he  seems  to  have  felt  both  the  obliga- 

H 


170  LIFE   OF   FKELINGHUYSEN. 

tion  and  the  desire  "  to  labor  for  Christ"  in  every  suit- 
able way.  Indeed,  this  led  him  at  various  times  to 
canvass  with  great  earnestness  the  question  whether 
it  was  not  his  duty  to  forsake  the  bar  and  enter  upon 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  His  mind  was  long  and 
seriously  exercised  upon  the  subject,  and  he  often 
consulted  the  Christian  friends  in  whom  he  had  confi- 
dence as  to  the  path  of  his  duty.  It  is  believed  that 
the  major  portion  of  these  concurred  in  the  views  pre- 
sented by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Spring  in  the  following  letter. 
At  all  events,  the  practical  issue  was  in  accordance 
with  the  suggestions  here  presented  : 

"New York,  17tli  Nov.,  1835. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  '^  *  *  I  am  not  a  little  embar- 
rassed by  the  inquiry  you  propose  respecting  leaving 
the  bar.  Not  a  little  must  depend  upon  your  own 
state  of  mind.  The  great  question  is,  How  shall  I  as- 
certain the  will  of  God  in  this  matter  ?  Your  age  is 
not  against  the  contemplated  change.  You  may  la- 
bor, if  God  spare  you  and  give  you  health,  twenty 
years  in  the  best  of  causes.  Your  present  influence 
and  standing  at  the  bar  and  in  civil  life  are  against  the 
change.  Influence  and  character  are  plants  of  slow 
growth :  sometimes  they  are  so  local  and  professional 
that  they  can  not  be  successfully  transplanted.  You 
will  find  it  a  very  different  thing  to  plead  the  cause 
of  a  despised  Savior  before  an  opposing  world,  where 
every  thing  is  unexcited  and  like  adamant,  from  en- 
gaging in  a  cause  between  man  and  man,  where  every 
thing  is  excitable,  every  thing  novel,  and  every  thing 
exists  to  cherish  your  own  sensibilities.  Multitudes 
of  men  now  in  the  ministry,  who  are  not  above  medi- 
ocrity in  the  uniform  routine  of  parochial  labor,  would 
be  men  of  distinction  under  the  excitements  of  a  le- 
gal or  parliamentary  profession.  I  have  my  doubts 
whether  you  can  do  as  much  for  the  cause  of  the  bless- 


HIS   EFFOETS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  171 

ed  Eedeemer  in  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  as  you 
can  now  do  in  your  present  and  kindred  relations. 
And  yet  I  say  this  with  great  diffidence.  I  need  not 
tell  you  that  if  you  '  lack  wisdom'  to  decide  in  this 
matter,  there  is  a  weighty  promise  on  record  to  guide 
you.  I  left  the  bar  because  I  got  sick  of  it ;  I  could 
not  be  happy  in  it ;  I  panted  for  a  better  work.  And 
yet  mere  impulse  should  not,  and  I  am  persuaded  will 
not,  guide  you.  Our  Master  needs  laborers  in  Church 
and  State.  Such  is  the  feeling  and  such  are  the  insti- 
tutions of  this  country  that  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
can  get  very  little  influence  on  the  state,  and  therefore 
there  is  the  more  need  for  men  who  are  qualified  and 
have  the  spirit  of  ministers  to  retain  their  political  in- 
fluence. 

"  If  you  have  made  np  your  mind  to  leave  the  bar 
and  the  varied  scenes  of  public  life,  the  pulpit  is  the 
place  for  you,  and  not  an  agency  for  any  society.  For- 
give my  haste,  and  believe  me, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend,         G.  Speing." 

Satisfied  by  these  and  similar  considerations  that  it 
was  not  his  duty  to  seek  ordination,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  was  none  the  less  active  in  such  ways  as  lay  open 
to  him  in  advancing  the  Savior's  kingdom.  And  his 
success  was  such  as  to  show  that  his  decision  was 
right,  and  that  there  would  have  been  a  loss  rather 
than  a  gain  in  his  entering  the  clerical  profession. 
The  very  fact  that  he  was  a  layman  gave  additional 
power  to  the  appeals  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
make  to  his  fellow-men  on  religious  subjects. 

The  admirable  combination  of  zeal  and  discretion 
which  marked  his  conduct  in  other  matters  also  man- 
ifested itself  in  the  manner  in  which  he  discharged 
the  difficult  and  delicate  duty  of  dealing  personally 
with  individuals  in  relation  to  their  eternal  interests. 


172  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Some  believers,  tlirough  timidity,  reserve,  unconquer- 
able diffidence,  coldness  of  temperament,  or  the  im- 
perfection of  their  faith,  rarely  or  ^ever  open  their 
mouths  to  warn  the  sinner  or  encourage  the  trembling- 
disciple.  They  turn  the  whole  work  over  to  the  min- 
istry, and  act  as  if  they  supposed  that  example  were 
the  only  means  they  were  to  use  for  the  extension  of 
Christ's  kingdom.  Others,  who  are  more  intelligent 
and  more  conscientious  than  these,  often  fail  by  a  lack 
of  practical  wisdom  in  adapting  their  efforts  to  persons 
and  circumstances.  They  speak  at  the  wrong  time, 
or  in  an  unbecoming  spirit,  or  in  an  unfavorable  situ- 
ation ;  and  the  effort,  however  well  intended,  leads  to 
no  good  result,  if  it  does  not  do  positive  harm. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  avoided  both  evils.  He  labor- 
ed, and  his  labor  was  skillfully  directed.  His  course 
continually  exemplified  the  Scripture  maxim,  "  He 
that  winjieth  souls  isj^ge."  He  sowed  beside  all  wa- 
ters, but  the  seeding  was  adjusted  to  the  soil.  He  ad- 
dressed persons  at  the  top  and  also  at  the  bottom  of 
the  social  scale,  but  in  each  case  with  a  divine  discre- 
tion which  insured  attention  or  at  least  precluded  of- 
fense. None  were  so  high,  none  so  low  as  to  be  be- 
yond the  reach  of  his  affectionate  Christian  sympathy. 
He  would  speak  to  the  old  and  to  the  young,  to  his 
kinsmen  and  to  servants,  to  the  poor  and  to  the  rich, 
to  ordinary  citizens  and  to  those  who  were  distinguish- 
ed by  high  social  or  official  position.  In  doing  this 
he  was  aided  by  several  advantages,  partly  natural, 
partly  gracious  in  their  origin.  Of  the  former  class 
were  his  hereditary  courage,  a  quality  which  shines 
out  in  all  his  ancestors,  and  which  rendered  him  quite 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  SOULS.       173 

insensible  to  the  fear  of  man,  and  bis  shrewd  insio-bt 
into  human  character,  which  enabled  him  accurately 
to  measure  every  one  with  whom  be  came  in  contact 
and  learn  the  best  way  of  approach.     To  the  latter 
class  belong  his  eminently  consistent  life,  which  fore- 
stalled the  retort,  "  Physician,  heal  thyself;"  his  un- 
feigned humility,  which  prevented  his  speech  from  of- 
fending the  pride  of  those  whom  he  addressed ;  and, 
above  all,  his  habitual  fervor  of  piety,  which  enabled 
him  to  speak  out  of  a  full  heart— not  from  a  cold  sense 
of  duty,  but  from  the  irresistible  impulse  of  one  to 
whom  eternal  realities  were  always  near.    Among  all 
the  vast  variety  of  persons  whom  he  addressed  on  the 
subject  of  personal  religion,  not  one  is  known  ever  to 
have  taken  offense ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  persons 
at  opposite  points  of  the  social  scale  have  united  in 
saying  that  they  would  cheerfully  bear  from  him  what 
they  would  not  bear  from  any  one  else.     It  was  not 
necessary  for  him  to  wait  for  favored  moments,  or  de- 
pend upon  some  extraordinary  contingency.    So  close 
was  his  ordinary  walk  with  God,  so  constant  his  sense 
of  the  Savior's  presence  and  love,  that  he  was  always 
m  the  mood  to  talk  naturally  and  without  constraint 
of  spiritual  things.     "When  retired  to  the  country  for 
recreation  in  the  summer,  he  could  drop  a  good  word 
to  the  domestics  of  the  house ;  and  when  walking  at 
the  funeral  of  some  dignitary,  he  could  call  the  atten- 
tion of  his  companion  in  the  procession  to  the  claims 
of  the  merciful  Eedeemer.     All  times  and  places,  all 
ages  and  sexes  were  alike  to  hmTm  this  respect.     He 
had  the  heart  to  bear  witness  for  Christ,  and  by  God's 
grace  he  found  the  way.    If  any  class  of  persons,  by 


174  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

their  situation  in  life,  their  social,  professional,  or  po- 
litical connections,  were  removed  beyond  the  range  of 
the  usual  means  of  bringing  the  truth  to  bear  upon 
the  conscience,  he  seemed  to  feel  himself  the  more  im- 
pelled to  use  the  advantage  of  his  social  position  to 
press  the  Savior's  claims  personally  upon  such.  Some- 
times, of  course,  he  was  heard  with  ill-concealed  impa- 
tience ;  but  at  others  his  words  fell  as  the  dew  of  Her- 
mon  on  the  mountains  of  Zion,  where  the  Lord  com- 
manded the  blessing  even  life  forevermore.  And 
there  are  not  a  few  public  men,  lawyers  and  states- 
men, who  will  be  found  in  the  great  day  to  have  been 
led  to  Christ  by  Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 

When  personal  approach  was  not  to  be  had,  he  re- 
sorted to  the  pen,  and  wrote  to  those  in  whom  he  felt 
interest.  But  few  of  his  numerous  letters  of  this  char- 
acter have  been  recovered ;  but  those  which  are  ex- 
tant, though  for  the  most  part  brief,  are  marked  with 
great  fidelity,  propriety,  and  a  pleading  tenderness 
which  it  must  have  been  hard  to  resist.  But  he  did 
not  confine  himself  to  such  set  epistles,  but  in  almost 
every  letter,  no  matter  what  the  subject,  contrived  to 
insinuate  or  express  something  about  the  great  con- 
cern. 

The  full  details  of  his  activity  in  this  form  of  doing 
good  will  never  be  known,  but  some  instances  casual- 
ly revealed  will  indicate  the  wide  extent  of  his  sym- 
pathies and  the  great  variety  of  classes  to  whom  he 
performed  the  ofiice  of  a  faithful  Christian  friend. 

Among  the  most  prominent  of  the  public  men  for 
whose  spiritual  welfare  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  cherished 
a  deep  and  tender  solicitude  was  Heney  Clay.     He 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  176 

was  attracted  by  Mr.  Clay's  large  and  generous  nature, 
be  admired  his  talents,  be  sympathized  with  his  polit- 
ical views,  and  be  enjoyed  for  many  years  a  friendly 
intimacy  with  him.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  be 
should  long  to  see  him  a  possessor  of  like  precious 
faith  with  himself  In  his  correspondence  with  him, 
therefore,  whatever  might  be  the  special  occasion  or 
topic  of  a  letter,  Mr.  Frelingbuysen  always  included  a 
reference  to  the  great  question  of  the  soul's  relation  to 
God. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1835  Mr.  Clay  was  bereaved 
very  suddenly  of  a  favorite  daughter.  Mr.  Freling- 
buysen addressed  to  him  a  letter  of  condolence,  the 
tenor  of  which  is  easily  inferred  from  the  following 
reply,  dated  Washington,  16th  January,  1836,  in  which, 
after  thanking  Mr.  F.  for  attending  to  a  commission  for 
him,  be  proceeds : 

"  But  I  thank  you,  my  dear  friend,  still  more  for  the 
deep  interest  which  you  so  kindly  take  in  my  spirit- 
ual welfare.  I  should  be  most  happy  to  have  the  con- 
fidence and  assurance  which  you  feel  on  that  serious 
subject.  It  is  one  on  which,  if  I  have  given  no  evi- 
dence to  the  world  of  its  having  engaged  my  anxious 
thoughts,  I  have  long  and  constantly  reflected  with  the 
greatest  solicitude,  and  I  indulge  the  hope  that  I  shall 
ultimately  find  the  p'eace  wbicH~you  nave  attained. 
My  late  sad  affliction  has  taught  me  an  awful  lesson, 
and  impressed  me  with  a  solemn  conviction  of  the  ut- 
ter vanity  of  all  earthly  things.  If  I  bad  been  asked 
six  weeks  ago  to  point  to  the  two  happiest  beings  that 
I  knew,  I  should  have  designated  my  poor  daughter 
and  her  bereaved  husband.  She  is  now,  perhaps,  still 
happier;  but  alas  !  how  wretched  is  be,  and  bow  mis- 
erable am  I !     My  dear  wife  derives  great  support  un- 


176  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

der  this  severe  dispensation  from  her  faith  and  future 
hopes,  and  I  have  experienced  some  consolation  from 
the  numerous  letters  of  condolence  which  I  have  re- 
ceived from  good  and  pious  friends. 

"I  remain,  truly,  your  friend,  H.  Clay. 

"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen,  Esq." 

The  succeeding  letter  was  written  in  reference  to 
the  nomination  of  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen  by  the 
Whig  National  Convention  in  May,  1844 : 

T.  Frelinghuysen  to  H.  Clay. 

''"New  York,  May  11, 1844. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  have  been  rather  impatiently 
waiting  for  my  lame  arm  to  write  a  few  lines  to  my 
honored  friend,  that  I  might  express  to  you  the  heart- 
felt gratification  that  I  feel  at  the  recent  association  of 
my  humble  name  with  yours — a  distinction  as  honor- 
able as  it  has  been  to  me  surprising.  And  should  the 
result  of  the  fall  election  confirm  the  nomination,  of 
which  there  now  seems  to  be  very  strong  indications, 
it  will,  I  assure  you,  be  among  my  richest  political 
privileges  to  contribute  any  mite  of  influence  in  my 
power  to  render  prosperous  and  lasting  in  benefits  the 
administration  of  a  patriot  whose  elevation  I  have  long 
desired.  Our  names  have  been  brought  together  here 
by  the  voice  of  our  fellow-men.  My  prayer  for  you 
and  my  own  soul  shall  be  fervent  that,  through  the 
rich  grace  of  our  Savior,  they  may  be  found  written  in 
the  Book  of  Life  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  for  our 
sins, 

"  My  good  wife,  who  has  never  ceased  to  cherish  the 
hope  of  your  eventual  elevation  to  the  chief  magis- 
tracy, unites  with  me  in  kindest  respects  to  Mrs.  Clay 
and  yourself 

"  P.S. — My  hand  is  still  lame,  and  I  can  write  only 
in  irregular  characters." 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  177 

The  following  was  written  when  the  defeat  of  the 
Whigs  was  ascertained : 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen  io  Mr.  Clay. 

"New  York,  Nov.  9th,  1844. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  address  you  this  morning  with 
very  different  feelings  from  ray  expectations  a  few 
months  ago.  The  alliance  of  the  foreign  votes  and 
that  most  impracticable  of  all  organizations,  the  Abo- 
litionists, have  defeated  the  strongest  national  vote 
ever  given  to  a  presidential  candidate.  The  Whigs  in 
this  city  and  state  have  struggled  most  nobly.  All 
classes  of  American  citizens  have  ardently,  cordially, 
and  with  the  freest  sacrifices  contended  for  your  just 
claims  to  patriotic  confidence;  and  could  you  this 
morning  behold  the  depression  of  spirits  and  sinking 
of  hearts  that  pervade  the  community,  I  am  sure  that 
you  would  feel,  '  Well,  in  very  truth,  my  defeat  has 
been  the  occasion  of  a  more  precious  tribute  and  vin- 
dication than  even  the  majority  of  numbers.' 

"  The  Abolitionists  were  inimically  obstinate,  and 
seemed  resolved  to  distinguish  their  importance,  right 
or  wrong.  The  combination  of  adverse  circumstances 
has  often  struck  me  in  the  progress  of  the  canvass. 
At  the  South  I  was  denounced  as  an  Abolitionist, 
rank  and  uncompromising.  Here,  the  Abolitionists 
have  been  rancorous  in  their  hostility.  A  short  time 
since,  William  Jay  (of  illustrious  name)  assailed  me  in 
his  anti-slavery  prints  by  a  harsh,  unchristian  article 
in  the  form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  me,  but  sent  to  the 
winds.  Its  object  was,  no  doubt,  to  drive  the  party, 
and  it  had,  I  suppose,  some  influence  that  way,  al- 
though it  was  too  bitter  and  irrational  to  accomplish 
much.  And  then  the  foreign  vote  was  tremendous. 
More  than  three  thousand,  it  is  confidently  said,  have 
been  naturalized  in  this  city  alone  since  the  first  of 
October.  It  is  an  alarming  fact  that  this  foreign  vote 
H2 


178  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

has  decided  the  great  questions  of  American  policy 
and  counteracted  a  nation's  gratitude, 

"But,  my  dear  sir,  leaving  this  painful  subject,  let 
us  look  away  to  brighter  and  better  prospects  and 
surer  hopes  in  the  promises  and  consolations  of  the 
Gospel  of  our  Savior.  As  sinners  who  have  rebelled 
against  our  Maker,  we  need  a  Savior  or  we  must  per- 
ish, and  this  Eedeemer  has  been  provided  for  us. 
Prophecy  declared  Him  from  the  earliest  period  of 
our  fall  in  Paradise,  and  the  Gospel  makes  known  the 
faithful  fulfillment.  '  Come  unto  me,'  cries  this  exalt- 
ed Savior, '  come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.'  Let  us  then 
repair  to  Him.  He  will  never  fail  us  in  the  hour  of 
peril  and  trial.  Vain  is  the  help  of  man,  and  frail  and 
fatal  all  trust  in  the  arm  of  flesh  ;  but  he  that  trusteth 
in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion  itself,  that  can  nev- 
er be  removed.  I  pray,  my  honored  friend,  that  your 
heart  may  seek  this  blessed  refuge,  stable  as  the  ever- 
lasting hills,  and  let  this  be  the  occasion  to  prompt  an 
earnest,  prayerful,  and  the  Lord  grant  it  may  be  a  joy- 
ful search  after  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

"  With  affectionate  regards  to  Mrs.  Clay,  in  which 
my  good  wife,  sorely  tried,  heartily  unites,  I  remain, 
with  sincere  esteem  and  best  wishes,  your  friend." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Clay  sent  the  following  reply, 
showing  the  spirit  in  which  he  met  his  defeat,  the  way 
he  accounted  for  it,  and  the  cordiality  with  which  he 
entertained  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  religious  suggestions : 

Mr.  Clay  to  Mr.  Frelinglmysen. 

"Ashland,  2d  December,  1844. 
"  My  dear  Sir, — I  duly  received  your  friendly  let- 
ter of  the  9th  November.     I  fully  share  in  the  feel- 
ings under  the  influence  of  which  it  was  written.    The 
most  unexpected  result  of  the  Presidential  election  has 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO  SAVE   SOULS.  179 

caused  many  patriotic  hearts  to  bleed,  and  has  greatly 
affected  my  own.  Although  I  will  not  deny  that  I 
feel  the  shock  of  the  sad  event  on  my  own  account,  it 
is  far  more  to  be  deplored  for  our  country  and  our 
friends.  I  had  indulged  the  hope  that  I  might  be  an 
humble  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence  to  en- 
deavor to  bring  back  our  government  to  its  former 
purity,  and  to  contribute  toward  rendering  justice  to  a 
large  body  of  virtuous,  able,  and  patriotic  friends  who 
have  been  cruelly  persecuted  and  proscribed.  That 
hope  is  now  fled  forever. 

"  The  issue  of  the  contest  has  been  brought  about 
by  the  most  extraordinary  combination  of  circum- 
stances. If  nativism  had  not  sprung  up,  or  if  it  had 
been  more  faithful  to  its  own  principles ;  or  if  the  for- 
eign vote  had  not  been  united  against  us ;  or  if  the 
Catholics  had  been  more  divided ;  or  if  the  Abolition- 
ists had  been  true  to  their  own  avowed  principles ;  or 
if  there  had  been  no  frauds,  the  triumph  of  the  Whigs 
would  have  been  secured.  It  required  a  union  of  all 
these  discordant  elements  to  defeat  them,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, the  union  existed. 

"  It  is  highly  gratifying  to  me  to  learn  from  you 
that  the  Whigs  of  the  city  and  State  of  New  York 
struggled  nobly.  The  same  praise  is  due  to  them, 
generally,  throughout  the  Union. 

"  We  have  other  consolations.  Neither  you  nor  I 
have  done  any  thing  to  bring  upon  ourselves  self-re- 
proaches during  the  canvass,  and  both  of  us,  by  its  re- 
sult, have  been  saved  a  great  responsibility.  Let  us 
also  cherish  the  fond  hope  that  the  evils  to  our  coun- 
try, which  we  so  much  apprehend  from  the  new  ad- 
ministration, may  not  be  realized. 

"  You  have,  my  dear  friend,  however,  kindly  sug- 
gested the  truest  of  all  consolations  in  the  resources 
of  our  holy  religion.  I  have  long  been  persuaded  of 
that  solemn  truth ;  nor  have  I  been  entirely  neglect- 
ful of  exertions  to  secure  to  mvself  its  benefit.    I  wish 


180  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

I  could  add  that  I  feel  entire  confidence  that  these  ex- 
ertions had  been  crowned  with  success.  But  they 
shall  not  be  intermitted ;  and  I  trust  that,  by  diligent 
searching,  I  shall  yet  find,  in  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus, 
that  solace  which  no  earthly  honors  or  possessions  can 
give. 

"Mrs.  Clay  unites  with  me  in  reciprocating  affec- 
tionate regards  to  Mrs.  F.,  and  I  remain  ever  faithfully 
and  truly  your  friend,  H.  Clay. 

"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen,  Esq." 

In  the  year  1846,  Mr.  Clay,  in  answer  to  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  speaking  of  his  continued  ill 
health,  wrote  to  him,  under  date  of  October  9,  from 
Ashland,  recommending  a  certain  course  of  treatment 
which  had  been  beneficial  to  himself  in  1828,  when  al- 
most broken  down  by  his  labors  as  Secretary  of  State. 
After  speaking  on  this  point  very  minutely,  the  writer 
proceeds : 

"I  am  greatly  obliged,  my  dear  friend,  by  the  kind 
interest  you  take  in  my  spiritual  welfare.  I  feel  much 
more  comfortable  than  I  ever  did  on  that  subject.  I 
hope  and  believe  that  I  have  improved  in  my  relig- 
ious feelings  and  in  the  performance  of  my  religious 
duties.  I  attend  the  Episcopal  Church  regularly  and 
with  satisfaction,  but  I  have  not  yet  become  a  member 
of  it.  This  I  hope  to  do.  I  must  own,  however,  with 
regret,  that  I  do  not  yet  feel  that  absolute  confidence 
in  my  future  salvation  which  some  Christians  profess 
to  have  in  theirs." 

The  last  letter  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  his  old  friend 
was  written  not  many  months  before  Mr.  Clay's  death : 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  SOULS.        181 


Theodore  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Clay. 

"  New  Brunswick,  January  19,  1852. 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  have  beard,  with  great  interest 
and  anxiety,  of  your  continued  feeble  health,  and  that 
it  had  been  rather  more  feeble  since  your  decided  tes- 
timony in  behalf  of  Washington's  foreign  policy.  I 
was  rejoiced  to  hear  your  words  of  soberness  and  truth 
on  the  excitii^g^  question  of  Hungarian  politics,  and  I 
trust  that  a  divine  blessing  will  follow  your  counsels. 

'I  In  this  time  of  impaired  health,  and  sometimes 
trying  despondency  that  ensues,  it  must  be  refreshing 
to  look  away  to  Him  who  is  a  helper  near  in  trouble, 
and  able  and  willing  to  sustain  and  comfort  you.  This 
JDlessed  Gospel,  that  reveals  the  riches  of  God's  grace 
in  Jesus  Christ,  is  a  wonderful  remedy,  so  suited  to  our 
condition  and  character,  and  so  full  of  inexpressible 
consolation  to  us  as  sinners  needing  mercy,  His  blood 
cleansing  us  from  the  guilt  of  sin.  His  Spirit  purifying 
our  hearts,  and  restoring  us  to  God's  image  and  favor. 
May  you,  my  dear  friend,  largely  partake  of  its  com- 
forts, and,  leaning  all  your  hopes  on  the  Almighty  Sa- 
vior's arm,  hold  on  your  way,  for  life  and  for  death, 
for  time  and  for  eternity,  in  His  name  and  strength." 

In  a  eulogy  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  pronounced 
in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  shortly  after  Mr.  Clay's  death, 
he  concluded  by  a  reference  to  his  religious  relations, 
and,  after  quoting  some  passages  from  the  letters  of  his 
friend,  remarked  that  these  extracts  "  show  ho^sjini- 
versal  is  the  need  of  a  Gospel  hope  for  the  noblest  and 
the  humblest ;  that,  however  human  distinctions  exist, 
and*use!uTry,  yet  before  God  there  is  but  one  level; 
and  also  how  far  more  gloriously  true  greatness  beams 
upon  us  from  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  seeking  peace 
through  the  blood  of  Him  who  once  died  upon  it  for 
our  snko." 


182  LIFE   OF  FRELlNGHUySEN. 

None  of  Mr.  Frelingliujsen's  letters  to  Mr.  Webster 
have  been  recovered,  but,  from  the  replies  which  he 
received,  their  tenor  can  easily  be  inferred.  In  the 
year  18-iO,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  being  then  Chancellor 
of  the  University,  wrote  to  Mr.  Webster  in  behalf  of 
•the  literary  societies  of  that  institution,  requesting  him 
to  deliver  the  annual  address  before  them,  at  the  same 
time  adding  some  words  on  what  he  downed  the  most 
important  of  all  subjects.  The  following  is  the  an- 
swer: 

"Washington,  Feb.  24,  1840. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  can  hardly  expect  to  be  pardon- 
ed for  delaying  so  long  an  answer  to  your  first  letter, 
and  for  waiting  to  be  reminded  by  a  second.  The 
truth  is,  my  dear  sir,  your  kind  letter  was  interesting, 
and  I  was  hoping  for  leisure  to  do  something  more 
than  to  make  a  reply  to  its  particular  request.  1  want- 
ed to  say  something  on  the  solemn  subjects  which,  in 
so  friendly  a  manner,  you  introduce  ;  but  I  have  found 
my  time  very  much  engrossed  by  the  concerns  of  pub- 
lic and  professional  life,  and  have  also  had  to  suffer 
the  inconvenience  of  a  very  long-continued  cold. 

"  I  can  not  possibly  undertake  to  make  an  address 
to  your  societies.  For  some  time  I  have  been  com- 
pelled to  decline  all  such  requests.  The  P.  B.  K.  of 
Cambridge  have  a  standing  claim  upon  me,  which  I 
have  put  off"  from  year  to  year,  and  must  put  off  again. 
I  wish  heartily  it  were  otherwise,  because  I  should  be 
glad  to  oblige  you,  but  do  not  flatter  myself  I  could 
speak  edifyingly  to  your  societies.  For  some  years  I 
have  hardly  kept  up  with  the  literature  of  the  day. 
Eust  is  coming  over  my  earlier  acquisitions,  and,  if  I 
can  keep  myself  a  little  bright  in  matters  of  law  and 
politics,  while  I  yet  pursue  them,  it  is  all  I  expect. 
*         *  '     *         *         -x-         *         -x- 

"  Yours,  D.  Webster." 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  183 

Eigbt  years  afterward  Mr.  FrelingTiuysen  addressed 
a  letter  of  condolence  to  this  distinguished  man,  then 
suffering  under  a  sore  bereavement.  He  was  thus  an- 
swered : 

"March  13th,  1848. 

"  In  the  midst  of  severe  affliction,  my  dear  friend,  I 
hear  your  voice  tendering  condolence  and  sympathy, 
and  uttering  admonitions  of  resignation  and  submis- 
sion. I  feel  that  nothing  else  is  left,  and  I  pray  God 
that  I  may  receive  the  chastening  with  a  penitent  and 
a  believing  spirit.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  whether  He 
shall  call  me  or  my  children  first  into  His  presence. 
I  know  that  there  we  must  all  shortly  appear.  I  thank 
you,  my  dear  sir,  for  your  affectionate  kindness  and 
remembrance,  and  assure  you  that  your  health  and 
happiness  are  subjects  of  my  sincere  prayers. 

"  The  sun  of  our  lives  is  fast  going  down  ;  my  own, 
especially,  is  already  near  the  horizon.  1  wish  to  con- 
sider all  things  earthly  as  held  by  a  precarious  tie,  and 
that  by  a  tie  still  more  precarious  I  am  held  to  those 
who  love  me. 

"Mrs. Webster  joins  me  in  kind  remembrances  to 
you  and  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen,  and  pray  you  to  accept 
our  affectionate  regards.  Daniel  Webster. 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  for  many  years  intimately 
associated  with  the  Hon.William  Pennington,  for  many 
years  Governor  and  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  and  afterward  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives during  the  troublous  times  of  the  Thirty- 
sixth  Congress.  He  was  always  faithful  to  the  soul 
of  his  friend,  and  at  last  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
him  an  avowed  and  consistent  Christian.  His  agency 
in  leading  to  this  result  is  thus  acknowledged  by  the 
governor  in  a  letter  written  in  April,  1858: 


184  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

u  *  *  -jr  jf  g^jjy  Q^Q  tiling  has  impressed  me 
more  than  any  other,  it  is  this  wonderful  mercy  that 
we  should  be  permitted  to  go  on  in  sin,  and  rebellion, 
and  ingratitude  for  a  long  life,  and  yet  be  permitted 
to  share  in  the  blessings  which  appertain  to  all  who 
are  penitent  and  ask  forgiveness  at  the  hands  of  the 
Mediator. 

"  I  wish  to  say  to  you,  as  a  friend  to  whom  I  would 
confide  my  most  secret  thoughts,  that  I  do  not  consid- 
er myself  a  subject  of  the  present  revival  any  farther 
than  it  may  have  led  me  to  consummate  a  purpose 
long  intended.  And  it  is  due  from  me  to  say  that  I 
ascribe  much  of  my  reverence  for  divine  things,  and, 
indeed,  my  strongest  and  firmest  religious  impressions, 
to  your  advice  and  example — the  living  example,  that 
is  the  preacher,  after  all,  with  the  conscience  and  the 
intellect. 

"With  many  hopes  and  firm  resolves,  I  still  am, 
and  always  expect  to  be,  a  trembling,  doubting  Chris- 
tian. Some  people  have  much  enthusiasm,  much  feel- 
ing and  excitement;  with  me, I  confide  in  the  prom- 
ises, and  in  the  hope  that  I  have  made  a  full  and  hum- 
ble surrender  penitently  to  the  blessed  Eedeemer  of 
the  world.     *     *     * 

"  I  am,  ever,  your  friend,      Wm.  Pennington." 

With  the  Hon.  James  S.  Nevius,  long  a  prominent 
member  of  the  New  Jersey  bar,  and  afterward  one  of 
the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state,  Mr.Fre- 
linghuysen  frequently,  during  a  course  of  many  years, 
held  conversations  and  correspondence,  in  which  he 
acted  the  part  of  a  faithful  Christian  friend,  and  at  last 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  become  an  avowed  dis- 
ciple of  the  Lord  Jesus.  One  of  the  last  letters  writ- 
ten to  him  before  he  took  this  step  was  couched  in 
these  words: 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO  SAVE   SOULS.  185 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  have  duly  received  and  read  your 
letters  with  great  interest,  and  hope  that  I  may  give  a 
thought,  under  the  guidance  of  God's  blessed  Spirit, 
that  may  be  of  profit  to  your  own  anxious  mind.  It 
seems  to  me,  after  much  reflection  on  the  terms  of 
your  letter,  that  the  only  hinderance  in  your  way  is  in 
the  unwillingness  of  your  heart  to  give  up  all  its  pleas 
and  strivings,  its  regrets  at  unavailing  and  unsatisfied 
strivings  to  be  better,  and  to  fall  down  a  poor,  lost, 
wretched  sinner  at  the  Savior's  feet,  and  to  give  Him 
all  the  glory  of  your  deliverance  from  the  power,  pol- 
lution, and  guilt  of  sin. 

"  And  here  you  have  stood  for  years,  in  the  inner 
secrets  of  your  heart  fighting  against  God  and  His 
way  of  mercy,  and  wanting  to  make  terms  with  Him 
— some  little  spot  or  speck  of  merit,  no  matter  how 
small,  the  very  least  grain  that  will  save  pride,  your 
pride,  the  humiliation  of  such  unconditional  submis- 
sion as  the  Gospel  and  grace  of  God  requires.  If  the 
matter  could  be  settled  by  the  most  painful  investiga- 
tion of  reason  and  philosophy — if  it  were  allowed  or 
even  required  of  you  to  undergo  the  pains  of  bodily 
toil  and  suffering — if  the  tears  you  shed,  the  horrors 
you  experience,  the  darkness,  doubts,  and  conflicts  you 
endure  —  if  these,  or  any  of  these,  might  only  have 
some  place  to  draw  Divine  forbearance  and  make  up 
the  account  to  soften  a  single  grain  of  Divine  require- 
ments, how  willingly  your  heart  would  give  in  to  such 
conditions.  Here  it  is — believe  it:  there  is  no  obsta- 
cle but  in  a  proud  heart  that  will  not  bow  down  all 
the  way  to  dust  and  ashes  before  God,  and  exclaim, 
'  O  Lord !  I  surrender. 

"  '  A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless  worm, 
On  Thy  kind  arms  I  fall ; 
Be  Thou  my  strength  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus  and  my  all.' 

"  Yes,  my  friend,  you  must  come  and  ought  to 
come.    For  ivlio  is  this  gracious  Eedeemer  ?    Remem- 


186  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

ber  that  He  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesTi.  The  Lord 
of  life  and  glory  for  our  sakes  took  upon  Him  our  na- 
ture and  suffered  for  us — died  on  the  cross  to  atone  for 
our  violations  of  His  own  blessed  law ;  and  now  all 
He  asks  of  you  is,  '  Son,  give  me  thine  heart,'  and  you 
have  refused  Him  this  small  tribute  for  years  and 
years.  He  says  in  His  Word,  To  as  many  as  received 
Him,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God.  You  won't  receive  Him,  and  then  mourn  that 
you  can't  get  religion.  You  never  will  until  you  fly 
to  the  Savior.  Submit  now,  unreservedly,  and  all 
will  be  peace.     Yours  very  truly, 

"  ThEO.  FRELINGHUYSEiS'. 
"  The  Hon.  James  S.  Nevius." 

The  Hon.  E.  F.  Chambers  was  a  member  of  the 
Senate  from  Maryland  during  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
term  of  service  in  that  body.  In  a  letter  written  from 
Chestertown,  Maryland,  in  March,  1854,  Judge  Cham- 
bers bears  this  testimony  to  the  character  and  course 
of  his  friend : 

"  It  is  truly  gratifying  to  witness  the  continued  kind 
feeling  of  an  old  friend,  for  whom  I  have  never  ceased 
to  entertain  a  warm  regard ;  whose  kind,  considerate, 
and  Christian  counsel  has  been  willingly  tendered 
when  impatience  of  spirit  or  intemperance  of  excited 
feeling  would  mislead  me,  and  whose  amiable  and 
disinterested  aid  was  never  withheld  when  needed. 
May  you  long  continue,  my  friend,  to  fulfill  the  office 
you  have  so  well  performed — a  pattern  of  the  Chris- 
tian graces,  and  a  wise  counselor  to  all  who  would  cul- 
tivate them.     *     *     * 

"  It  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  see  you  once 
more  before  one  or  the  other  shall  be  called  away; 
but,  if  not  on  earth,  I  humbly  trust  we  may  in  heaven 
renew  our  greetings. 

"Very  faithfully  and  truly  yours, 

"  E.  F.  Chambers." 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  SOULS.       187 

On  one  occasion,  many  years  ago,  the  legal  friend 
with  whom  he  usually  traveled  when  going  to  Tren- 
ton to  attend  the  courts  was  accompanied  by  his  son, 
then  a  young  man  just  about  to  make  his  appearance 
at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  next  morning 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  invited  the  youth  to  join  him  in  an 
eai^ywalE:.  While  they  were  together  the  subject  of 
personal  religion  was  introduced,  and  urged  by  one  so 
evidently  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  that  inter- 
view was  a  benediction.  And  when  the  good  man  lay 
upon  his  death-bed,  the  companion  of  his  walk  forty 
years  before  called  at  the  house,  and  sent  a  message 
of  thanks  acknowledging  the  life-long  benefit  derived 
from  the  conversation  then  held.  It  elicited  from  the 
dying  saint  the  characteristic  response,  "Give  God  the 
praise." 

At  this  early  period  of  his  conversion  he  was  often 
tried  by  temptations  to  forbear  speaking  to  the  world- 
ly upon  their  spiritual  condition.  There  was  one  em- 
inent member  of  the  bar  for  whom  he  had  felt  much 
concern,  but  whom  he  found  it  quite  a  trial  to  address 
on  the  matter,  and  accordingly  deferred  it  from  time 
to  time.  At  last,  in  one  of  his  morning  walks,  his 
mind  became  so  troubled  that  he  turned  his  steps 
homeward  and  at  once  sought  the  lawyer,  saying, 
"  There  is  a  subject  of  which  I  have  long  wanted  to 
speak  to  you,  but  have  been  afraid."  "  Why,  Freling- 
huysen,  what  in  the  world  is  there  of  which  you  are 
afraid  to  speak  to  me  ?"  "  It  is  of  your  undying  soul, 
and  I  have  acted  like  a  coward  about  it."  "Well, 
Frelinghuysen,  tjou  may  speak  to  me  on  that  subject, 
but  not  those  who  are  inconsistent  Christians." 


188  LIFE  OF  FKELINGHUYSEJSr. 

A  missionary  of  the  Methodist  Church,  now  labor- 
ing in  China,  who,  when  a  mere  child,  had  seemed  to 
be  converted,  but  afterward  wandered  very  far  from 
the  true  path,  traces  his  recovery  and  present  Chris- 
tian hope  to  the  Divine  blessing  upon  frequent  con- 
versations Mr,  Frelinghuysen  held  with  him  while  vis- 
iting in  the  drug-store  where  the  young  man  was  act- 
ing as  clerk. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  seemed  never  to  lose  an  oppor- 
tunity. His  heart  was  so  burdened  with  concern  for 
all  out  of  Christ,  that  he  has  been  known  more  than 
once,  after  passing  unconverted  persons  in  the  street, 
to  be  constrained  by  his  own  painful  emotions  to  turn 
back  and  speak  with  them  on  the  state  of  their  souls. 
Even  his  students,  although  so  faithfully  dealt  with  in 
his  biblical  instructions,  and  at  other  times  when  they 
were  addressed  as  a  body,  were  not  neglected  in  pri- 
vate interviews,  but  then  entreated  with  even  more 
fervor  to  turn  to  God  and  give  Him  their  hearts. 

He  was  not  discouraged  by  the  fact  that  any  whom 
he  could  address  were  intemperate,  or  otherwise  very 
far  estranged  from  the  right  path,  but,  on  the  contra- 
ry, seized  every  occasion  to  speak  to  them  the  fitting 
word ;  and,  however  such  persons  might  object  to  ap- 
peals and  remonstrances  coming  from  others,  they  al- 
ways listened  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  at  least  with  out- 
ward attention  and  respect.  His  purity  and  consist- 
ency of  character  were  so  eminent  and  undeniable  that 
those  who  were  hardened  in  impenitence  could  not 
close  their  ears  to  what  he  said. 

In  November,  1859,  a  state  convention  of  Sabbath- 
school  teachers  was  held  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.    Mr. 


HIS  EFFOETS  TO  SAVE  SOULS.        189 

Frelingliuysen,  as  president  of  the  body,  opened  the 
sessions  with  an  earnest  and  instructive  address. 
When  he  sat  down,  the  late  John  P.  Jackson,  Esq.,  of 
Newark,  followed  with  these  remarks : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  came  here  to  listen  and  to  learn ; 
but  I  am  delighted  to  say,  before  this  great  assembly, 
that  all  my  early  principles,  all  the  great  foundations 
of  learnmg  which  I  esteem  valuable  for  time  and  eter- 
nity, I  have  derived,  sir,  as  a  pupil  of  yours ;  and  were 
it  not  for  the  opportunity  of  making  this  acknowl- 
edgement, I  should  not  have  arisen.  And  it  is  pre- 
cisely in  the  mode  which  you  have  employed  this  aft- 
ernoon in  your  plain  and  simple  address  that  I  have 
received  that  instruction,  -s*-  *  *  And,  sir,  I  have 
been  prompted  by  your  noble  example  to  engage  in 
the  delightful  work  of  Sabbath  -  school  instruction ; 
and  now  I  come  here  with  you  to  engage  in  council 
on  its  great  interests,  although  some  thirty -five  years 
have  passed  since  I  studied  law  in  your  office,  and  re- 
ceived my  early  impressions  of  duty  from  your  exam- 
ple and  instructions." 

There  were  few  public  men  in  New  Jersey,  or  in 
Washington,  or  in  New  York,  with  whom  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting,  to  whom  he 
did  not  at  some  time  or  in  some  way  bring  the  sub- 
ject of  personal  religion.  He  was  judicious  and  un- 
obtrusive in  his  methods  of  approach,  and  his  delicacy 
of  feeling  and  vivid  sense  of  propriety  rendered  those 
whom  he  addressed  more  willing  to  open  their  hearts 
upon  a  theme  of  such  deep  personal  interest.  He  cer- 
tainly often  found  access  where  other  persons  had  fail- 
ed, and  there  are  many  still  living  who  could  bear  a 
decided  testimony  to  his  Christian  faithfulness.  Mr. 
Freliaghuysen  rarely  spoke  of  these  interviews ;  nev- 


190  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

er,  indeed,  save  in  circumstances  when  a  reference  to 
them  would  be  not  only  unobjectionable,  but  of  useful 
tendency.  He  was  quite  content  to  do  good  in  secret, 
and  wait  for  recognition  until  the  resurrection  of  the 
just.  Many,  therefore,  who  have  long  known  his  pub- 
lic reputation  as  a  consistent  Christian,  will  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that,  perhaps,  no  layman  in  the  land 
ever  made  so  many  private  personal  appeals  on  the 
matter  of  the  soul's  salvation  as  he  habitually  did  dur- 
ing the  last  forty  years  of  his  life.  It  was  not  a  fitful, 
occasional  thing,  pursued  during  some  season  of  re- 
vival and  then  abandoned,  but  a  fixed  habit,  followed 
at  home  and  abroad  with  the  undeviating  constancy 
of  a  deep-seated  principle.  His  catholic  sympathies 
took  in  the  worth  ot  all  souls  as  such,  and  there  was 
no  human  being  so  low  or  degraded,  so  alien  or  hos- 
tile, that  he  did  not  feel  for  its  spiritual  welfare,  and 
speak  the  proper  word  whenever  an  o]3portunity  ofl'er- 
ed  or  could  be  made  to  occur.  He  was  on  the  watch 
to  seize  favorable  occasions,  and  his  own  walk  with 
God  was  so  close,  and  his  own  experience  of  divine 
things  so  rich  and  satisfying,  that  it  was  nothing  un- 
natural or  constrained  for  him,  on  any  day  of  the 
week,  or  during  any  season  of  the  year,  to  invite  the 
unthinking  and  worldly  to  consider  the  things  which 
belonged  to  their  everlasting  peace. 

He  was  not  always  successful.  Some  to  whom  he 
had  been  faithful  during  a  long  term  of  years,  and  for 
whom  he  had  prayed  with  very  great  fervor  and  con- 
stancy, at  last  went  down  to  the  grave  giving  small 
and  dubious  signs  of  being  prepared  for  the  great 
change.    But  he  was  not  chilled,  much  less  soured  bv 


HIS  EFFORTS  TO   SAVE   SOULS.  191 

the  disappointment.  His  zeal  was  destitute  of  the 
least  tincture  of  fanaticism.  His  sorrow  was  not  for 
the  failure  of  the  means,  but  for  the  loss  of  the  end ; 
and  the  only  result  was  to  set  him  more  diligently  at 
work  to  do  what  he  could  for  the  salvation  of  such  as 
remained  still  within  the  reach  of  human  efforts.  His 
entire  life  was  an  exemplification  of  the  sentiment  ex- 
pressed in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Lincoln :  "  I  suppose  that 
while,  for  the  more  solemn  duties  of  the  sanctuary  and 
its  worship,  and  for  the  governance  and  order  of 
Christ's  Church,  the  ministers  are  to  be  called  and  set 
apart,  yet  for  exhortation,  and  prayer,  and  witnessing 
for  the  truth,  and  warning  sinners,  and  encouraging 
the  trembling  believer,  we  are  all  to  labor  for  Christ, 
and  to  have  a  heart  and  a  tongue  for  His  blessed 
service." 


192  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EXTEACTS  FROM  HIS   CORRESPONDENCE. 

Its  general  Character. — Fifteen  Letters  to  a  young  Relative  pursuing 
his  Education. — Two  to  another  young  Relative. — Four  to  the  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  A.  H.  Cornell. — A  Letter  of  Condolence  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dc 
Witt. 

In  the  discourse  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Camp- 
bell on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  death, 
there  occurs  the  following  passage:  "  What  a  volume 
of  letters  his  vast  correspondence  on  behalf  of  good 
objects  would  furnish !  Letters  of  condolence  with 
those  who  were  in  trouble — letters  sending  pecunia- 
ry aid  and  kind  words  to  the  daughters  and  widows 
of  old  associates  whom  the  reverses  of  life  had  over- 
taken— letters  to  the  sons  of  old  friends,  who,  prod- 
igal-like, had  wandered  from  the  path  of  rectitude — 
letters  in  aid  of  the  Bible,  Tract,  Missionary,  Coloni- 
zation, and  Temperance  causes,  for  all  of  which  he  la- 
bored, and  gave,  and  prayed — letters  to  those  upon 
whom  he  pressed  the  claims  of  Christ — what  a  vol- 
ume of  letters  it  would  make !  And  I  dare  affirm 
that  he  who  will  read  all  that  vast  correspondence  of 
the  last  forty-two  years  will  not  find  one  censorious 
remark,  one  bitter  expression."  There  is  no  exagger- 
ation in  this  statement.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  corre- 
spondence was  very  large,  and  every  letter  bore  the 
stamp  of  his  own  generous,  manly.  Christian  charac- 
ter.    In  his  later  years  writing  became  irksome  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  193 

him,  and  his  letters  rarely  exceeded  a  single  page,  but 
what  was  said  answered  the  purpose.  His  reluctance 
to  write  disappeared  whenever  the  prospect  of  useful- 
ness to  the  souls  of  men  presented  itself,  and  a  full 
heart  quivered  in  every  line  of  innumerable  epistles. 
The  range  of  his  correspondence  was  very  wide,  and 
in  no  case  where  the  circumstances  would  at  all  admit 
of  an  allusion  to  the  chief  concern,  did  he  fail  to  make 
such  allusion.  The  things  of  the  kingdom  held  such 
full  and  habitual  possession  of  his  mind  that  it  was 
easy  to  bring  them  forward,  and  his  long  training  and 
social  culture  enabled  him  to  do  it  without  giving  of- 
fense or  occasioning  an  unwelcome  surprise. 

The  most  of  his  letters  are  irrecoverably  lost  or  dis- 
persed. Of  those  which  have  been  recovered,  many 
are  so  interwoven  with  private  details  and  interests  of 
persons  yet  living  as  to  be  unfit  for  publication.  A 
score  or  more,  composed  mainly  of  such  as  were  ad- 
dressed to  young  friends,  are  here  inserted,  as  show- 
ing under  his  own  hand,  in  the  most  familiar  and  con- 
fidential utteranc-es  of  his  heart,  what  manner  of  man 
he  was. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  series  of  letters 
addressed  from  time  to  time  to  a  young  relative  pur- 
suing his  studies  away  from  home : 

"  My  dear , — "We  received  your  second  letter 

last  evening,  and  regretted  to  learn  that  you  had  en- 
countered so  many  difiiculties  in  your  going  to  W , 

If  I  had  thought  that  your  way  would  have  been  so 
difficult,  I  should  have  waited  for  some  friend  with 
whom  to  send  you.  But  I  am  thankful,  my  dear  child, 
that  the  Lord  has  been  your  friend.     He,  I  trust,  has 


19-i  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

brought  you  safely  to  your  residence.  We  miss  you 
much  from  our  dear  little  circle,  but  your  improve- 
ment under  the  many  advantages  of  the  college  con- 
soles us.  Now  is  the  season  for  you  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation for  your  future  usefulness,  and  let  me  entreat 
you  to  found  it  well  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  in  dili- 
gence to  acquire  solid  learning,  to  store  your  nii^id 
with  the  instructions  of  wisdom.    Your  Maker  claims 

your  first,  best  thoughts.     My  dear ,  realize  that 

you  are  a  sinner,  that  you  need  a  Savior,  and  that 
whatever  else  you  may  gain,  if  you  do  not  secure  an 
interest  in  the  mercy  of  God  through  the  blood  of  His 
dear  Son,  you  will  be  an  everlasting  victim  of  His 
wrath, 

"Eead  daily  the  Word  of  God,  and  when  you  read, 
pray  over  it  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  open  your  un- 
derstanding and  heart  to  receive  and  love  it. 

"  Be  careful  of  your  company.  It  is  a  truth  writ- 
ten upon  the  grave  of  many  a  ruined  youth  that '  evil 
communications  corrupt  good  manners.' 

"Discipline  yourself  to  spend  half  an  hour  each 
day  in  examining  your  condition  and  prospects.  Dwell 
on  such  questions  as  these :  What  am  I  ?  Where  will 
my  present  course  end  ?  What  am  I  to  do  for  God, 
who  gave  me  my  being,  my  friends,  and  my  all? 
Could  my  dear  father  and  mother  speak  to  me  from 
the  eternal  world,  what  would  be  their  counsels  to 
their  child  ?  Oh,  my  dear  child,  I  feel  my  soul  deep- 
ly anxious  for  your  spiritual  welfare.  Let  us  so  live 
that  we  may  forever  live  together  in  the  presence  of 

our  blessed  God  and  Savior,  with  all  the  redeemed. 
******* 

"Your  affectionate  uncle, 

"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen. 

"  Saturday  evening,  Jan.  3,  1820." 

"Dear  , — We  received  your  last  letter,  and 

are  happy  to  learn  of  your  health  and  welfare.  That 
you  should  occasionally  feel  the  depressing  influence 


CORRESPONDENCE.  195 

of  a  home-sick  fever  is  natural,  but  you  must  take  care 
that  it  does  not  master  you ;  and  the  best  remedy 
against  it  is  steady  employment  for  the  mind  in  your 
studies.     It  is  now  the  season  in  which  you  are  to  fit 

yourself  for  future  usefulness.     My  dear ,  I  hope 

your  aims  will  be  high.  I  mean  not  that  jon  should 
cherish  a  vain  ambition — far  from  this ;  but  I  mean 
that  you  should  strive  after  that  substantial  usefulness 
which  a  well-educated  mind,  disciplined  by  study  and 
self-denial,  will  generally  attain. 

"  You  say  nothing  of  the  state  of  your  feelings  on 
the  most  important  of  all  subjects — how  you  stand  af- 
fected toward  your  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Benefactor. 
He  has  claims,  my  dear  child,  which  can  not  be  disre- 
garded without  great  danger  and  guilt ;  and  I  should 
be  wanting  in  faithfulness  to  your  soul  not  thus  affec- 
tionately to  warn  you  that  every  day  you  put  off  re- 
pentance and  submission  to  Christ  you  run  an  awful 
hazard  of  eternal  wretchedness.  God  has  given  you 
His  "Word.  He  has  at  times  brought  you  to  the  verge 
of  eternity,  and  made  you  feel  how  dreadful  it  was  to 
enter  there  with  a  heart  unreconciled  to  Him.  Now 
be  persuaded  to  defer  no  longer.  Suffer  not  the  pre- 
cious season  of  youth  to  pass  away,  only  to  furnish 
matter  for  bitter  regrets.  May  the  rich  grace  of  the 
blessed  Eedeemer  be  shed  down  upon  your  soul,  and 
do  you  earnestly  pray  for  this  daily.     *     *     * 

"Very  affectionately,        T.  Frelinghuysen. 

"Newark,  Feb.  5,  1829." 

"Dear , — I  was  much  refreshed  by  your  let- 
ter received  last  evening.  I  intended  to  write  to  you 
from  "Washington,  but  my  stay  there  was  short  and 
hurried,  and  I  arrived  at  home  the  evening  before  your 
letter  came,  happy  to  learn  of  your  health  and  welfare. 

"  The  scenes  at  "Washington  were  to  me  quite  novel, 
and,  in  some  measure,  interesting ;  but,  my  dear  child, 
they  all  confirmed  the  dictate  of  sound  reason  and  re- 
ligious truth  that '  man  walketh  in  a  vain  show.'    The 


196  LIFE   OF  FEELmGHUYSEN. 

strifes  of  ambition  that  engage  the  whole  energies  of 
many  great  men  are  unsatisfying,  and  more,  they  are 
perplexing  and  delusive.  An  immortal  mind  can  not 
be  filled  with  such  vain  satisfactions.  God  has  form- 
ed us  to  enjoy  Him,  and  when  our  powers  are  debased 
and  jjerverted  to  inferior  j)urposes,  we  do  violence  to 
the  great  end  of  our  existence,  and  only  furnish  occa- 
sion for  disajjpointment  here,  and,  if  left  to  our  per- 
verse choice,  to  everlasting  confusion  and  wretched- 
ness hereafter. 

"  I  hope,  from  your  remarks  in  your  letter,  that  you 
sometimes  feel  that  religion  is  the  one  thing  needful ; 

and  if  you  realize,  my  dear ,  that  it  is  your  own 

unbelief  that  prevents  your  enjoying  the  favor  of  God, 
I  beg  you  to  be  concerned  at  the  condition  in  which 
you  stand  before  Him.  He  is  waiting  to  be  gracious. 
He  points  you  to  the  blood  of  His  Son  as  your  refuge. 
He  calls,  invites,  and  commands  you  to  turn  unto  Him 
and  live — to  repent  and  believe,  and  be  saved,  or  per- 
ish. Oh,  will  you  resist  all  this,  and  go  on  in  rebel- 
lion? 

"Do  you  sometimes  anxiously  inquire,  What  shall 
I  do?  Fall  down  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  There 
mourn  over  this  dreadful  unbelief  Cry  to  Him  who 
is  mighty  to  save  that  He  would  have  mercy  upon 
3"ou,  that  He  would  take  away  the  heart  of  stone  and 
give  a  heart  of  flesh.  Never  raise  up  any  other  obsta- 
cle than  a  hard  and  perverse  heart,  and  raise  this  as 
the  ground  of  all  your  guilt  and  wretchedness,  which, 
if  not  renewed  by  sovereign  grace,  will  justly  condemn 
you  forever.  Make  it  your  plea  for  mercy,  and  not 
your  apology  for  remaining  in  sin.  I  pray  that  the 
Lord  will  in  rich  grace  lead  your  soul  to  Himself. 
Cherish  every  serious  impression ;  endeavor  to  fix 
them  upon  your  heart;  remember  it  is  not  a  light 
thing,  but  for  your  life.     *     -5^     * 

"  Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen. 

"Newark,  March  25,  1829." 


COBRESPONDENCE.  197 


"Washington,  Jan.  27,  1832. 

"Dear  , — I  am  bappy  to  hear  that  you  are 

ao-ain  seated  at  your  studies,  and  hope  that  no  inter- 
ruption will  break  in  upon  the  diligent  pursuit  of  your 

professional  duties.     I  hope,  my  dear  ,  that  you 

feel  the  deep  importance  of  a  solid  education.  Lay 
the  foundations  of  usefulness  in  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  whole  range  of  medicine.  But  be  not  content 
here.  Draw  from  the  sources  of  history  and  biography, 
the  springs  of  human  action.  Become  familiar  with 
the  noble  specimens  of  taste  and  genius  in  the  English 
and  Latin  classics.  Be,  my  son,  an  accomplished 
scholar.  But  I  should  fail  in  my  duty,  as  you  would 
in  yours,  if  I  did  not  urge,  and  you  yield  to  it,  that 
you  should  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God.     My  dear 

,  let  me  entreat  you  to  look  at  this  momentous 

subject  promptly ;  what  shall  we  do  when  God  takes 
away  the  soul  for  eternity  ?  Eternity !  oh,  how  full 
of  meaning !  How  dreadful  is  that  thought  to  a  sin- 
ner who  must  be  driven  away!  Pray  over  it,  and 
may  the  Lord  lead  you  to  himself. 
"  Yours  very  truly." 

"Washington,  Peb.  27,  1832. 

"Dear  , — We  duly  received  your  letter  on 

Saturday,  and  are  rejoiced  to  learn  the  interesting 
state  of  religion  in  Mr.  H — '■ — 's  church ;  and  what  in- 
creased our  interest,  and  concern  also,  was  to  find  that 
your  mind  felt  at  such  a  season  the  comparative  un- 
importance of  all  other  mere  worldly  pursuits. 

"My  dear -,  it  is  a  deeply  momentous  crisis  for 

you.  When  the  Lord  comes  near  to  you  by  His  Spir- 
it, and  when,  as  I  trust.  His  motions  are  felt  upon  your 
heart,  it  makes  the  hour  one  of  the  most  solemn  on 
this  side  of  eternity.  Be  persuaded  by  all  the  just 
claims  which  your  Maker  and  Eedeemer  has  to  your 
affection  and  service — by  all  that  is  precious  in  the 
blood  shed  for  your  sins — by  all  that  is  valuable  in 


198  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

tlie  favor  of  God  or  terrible  in  liis  eternal  powers,  now, 
to-day,  to  surrender  your  heart  to  Him.  Go  mourning 
over  your  sins,  over  your  past  ingratitude  and  rebel- 
lion, and,  with  the  temper  of  the  prodigal,  seek  the 
reconciled  face  of  your  heavenly  Father. 

"How  could  the  Lord  make  terms  more  easy  ?  That 
He  ever  held  out  a  hope  on  any  terms  is  matter  of 
wonder  with  angels;  but  that  His  own  blessed  Son 
should  leave  His  glory  to  suffer  and  die  that  a  way  of 
deliverance  should  be  opened  for  the  guilty  children 
of  rebellious  men,  this,  this  is  astonishing  grace  in- 
deed. And  shall  we,  shall  you,  my  dear  son,  stand 
out  against  such  love,  refuse  to  repent  of  your  sins, 
and  reject  this  Savior?  Has  your  heart  ever  anx- 
iously inquired,  What  shall  I  do  ?  Go  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  and  plead  for  mercy  and  guidance.  Cast 
yourself  upon  God's  sovereign  pleasure.  You  can 
take  nothing  that  deserves  His  favor,  but  you  can  take 
a  broken  heart  for  sin,  and  this  is  all  He  asks  of  you. 

I  commend  you,  my  dear ,  to  this  Infinite  Grace, 

and  pray  for  you  that  your  heart  may  turn  from  ev- 
ery idle  vanity  and  all  other  refuges  to  the  strong-hold 
as  a  prisoner  of  hope. 

"  Yery  truly  and  affectionately  yours." 

"Newark,  September  10,  1832. 
"Dear , — We  received  your  letter  from  P- 


and  were  glad  to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival,  and  that 
you  seemed  so  far  pleased  with  the  situation.  I  hope 
that  you  may  soon  be  comfortably  lodged,  and  in  good 
earnest  improve  the  facilities  offered  for  your  improve- 
ment. It  would  have  been  very  pleasant  to  have  you 
with  us  until  the  time  of  our  returning  to  Washing- 
ton, but  your  welfare  was  of  still  greater  importance 
than  the  comfort  of  your  society.  You  must  now  set- 
tle it  in  your  mind  that  the  present  session  is  to  be  a 
time  of  serious  business,  hard  study,  and  laborious  in- 
vestigation.    To  bo  useful  in  your  profession,  you 


CORRESPONDENCE.  199 

must  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  public,  and  nothing 
will  secure  this  but  skill,  intelligence,  and  virtue.  No 
man  ever  became  eminent  in  any  service  but  through 
severe  and  constant  industry.  Genius,  without  this, 
is  but  a  shining  nothing,  to  dazzle  and  blaze  a  little, 
nd  then  to  pass  away  with  no  memorial  of  solid  use- 
fulness. Remember,  my  dear  child,  that  all  your  ad- 
vantages are  a  trust,  to  be  accounted  for  to  your 
friends,  to  society,  and,  above  all,  to  your  Maker. 
These  confer  corresponding  obligations.  Days  and 
months  pass  rapidly  away,  but  every  hour  bears  a  rec- 
ord of  our  conduct,  and,  when  the  brief  career  of  life 
is  concluded,  everlasting  consequences  follow  in  in- 
evitable connection.     My  dear ,  you  must  meet 

these  consequences.  Oh,  ponder  deej^ly  and  prayer- 
fully the  solemn  truth  that  you  can  never  escape, 
evade,  or  repel  them.  You  have  entered  on  the  pil- 
grimage for  eternity,  and  must  go  forward  to  realize 
its  retributions.  The  blessed  God  demands  as  His 
reasonable  service  your  heart  with  all  its  affections 
and  desires,  and  do  you  not  feel  that  you  justly  owe 
all  to  Him  ?  What  kindness  and  mercy  has  He  not 
strewed  all  along  your  path  ?  Who  provided  for  you 
all  the  blessings  which  so  richly  crown  your  life  ?  Oft- 
en, when  disease  has  invaded  and  threatened  to  cut 
you  down,  who  was  it  that  rebuked  the  sickness,  and 
healed,  and  bade  you  live  ?  And  what  does  the  Lord 
require  of  you  but  that  you  repent  of  all  your  sins, 
and  receive  and  rejoice  in  His  dear  Son  ?  Be  per- 
suaded to  bow  before  His  throne  of  mercy,  and  render 
up  your  powers  to  the  service  of  your  generous  and 
unwearied  Benefactor.  Then  you  will  have  a  sure 
refuge  in  every  season  of  trial,  and  a  resting-place  from 
a  world  of  anxiety  and  trouble. 

"  May  you  enjoy  the  best  of  your  heavenly  Father's 
blessings,  share  in  His  love,  and  be  kept  by  His  Spirit. 
"  Yours  very  truly." 


200  LIFE  OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 


"Newark,  September  6,  1833, 

"My  dear , — As  I  know  that  you  will  feel  a 

little  of  the  low  spirits  wliicli  occasionally  come  over 
us  when  separated  from  those  who  are  dear  to  us,  I 
concluded  to  drop  you  a  few  lines.  I  deeply  feel  the 
trial  of  parting  from  you,  and  am  only  reconciled  to  it 
by  the  persuasion  that  your  welfare  will  be  promoted 
by  the  change  in  your  plans.  It  is  an  anxious  pur- 
pose with  us  to  have  you  qualified  for  solid  usefulness 
in  your  profession,  and  we  should  forego  the  sincere 
pleasure  of  your  society  for  the  attainment  of  this  im- 
portant object. 

"  These  separations,  my  dear  son,  are  of  merciful  or- 
dainment,  with  all  their  pains.  They  are  designed  to 
lead  our  souls  up  to  the  blessed  God,  the  only  satisfy- 
ing portion ;  all  below  is  transitory  and  vain.  His  fa- 
vor is  life  eternal.  By  our  sins  we  have  forfeited  this 
rich  blessing ;  and  yet  He  offers  us  restoration,  on 
terms  glorious  to  His  mercy.  He  speaks  to,  nay. 
He  pleads  with  you,  '  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart.' 
Come  with  ingenuous  sorrow  for  sin,  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  all  will  be  well,  your  sins  for- 
given, and  your  precious  soul  accepted. 

"  I  hope  we  shall  often  hear  from  you,  and  I  com- 
mend you,  my  dear ,  to  the  grace  and  favor  of  a 

kind  and  gracious  Father. 

"  Very  sincerely  and  affectionately  yours." 

"Newark,  October  28,  1833. 

"  Dear , — I  received  your  acceptable  letter  on 

my  return  from  Bergen  Court  on  Friday  evening  last. 
It  gave  me  sincere  and  great  pleasure  to  learn  of  your 
welfare,  and  that  your  studies  had  become  so  agreea- 
ble to  your  taste,  I  hope,  my  dear  son,  that  you  will 
not  relax  your  industrious  exertions  to  master  your 
useful  profession  in  all  its  branches.  It  is  knowledge 
here,  as  in  all  science,  that  will  found  safely  and  sure- 
ly successful  enterprise.     Do  not  take  a  zest  in  the 


COERESPONDENCE.  201 

mere  23%52ca?  branches.  Eemember  that  the  laws  and 
operations  of  the  mind  are  intimately  connected  with 
your  profession,  and  this  opens  a  wide  and  deeply  in- 
teresting range  for  study  and  reflection.  And,  above 
all,  my  dear ,  remember  with  prayerful  convic- 
tion that  it  is  a  mind  in  ruins,  a  spirit  that  has  de- 
stroyed its  moral  beauty  by  rebellion  against  its  bless- 
ed and  glorious  Author.  Here  I  rejoice  to  know  that 
your  Bible  is  of  daily  perusal.  Search  its  divine  pages 
as  for  your  life.  Pray  to  be  guided  to  the  only  Phy- 
sician for  this  dreadful  malady,  even  to  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  who  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners. 

u  *  *  -x-  J  y^[Q]x  the  best  blessings  of  Heaven 
on  your  plans  in  prospect,  and  hope  they  may  realize 
your  hopes. 

"  Yery  truly  and  affectionately  yours." 

"Washington,  Feb.  18, 1834. 

"  Dear , — My  public  engagements  have  press- 
ed very  heavily  upon  me,  or  I  should  oftener  have 
written  to  you  through  the  winter.  I  have  heard  of 
you,  by  various  ways,  during  your  home  visit.  You 
must  have  greatly  enjoyed  the  sight  and  society  of 
your  friends.  But  what  gives  me  more  pleasure  than 
all  besides  is  the  report  of  your  studious  habits  and 
correct  deportment.  Here  my  feelings  are  all  ardent- 
ly enlisted,  and  the  best  and  sweetest  return  for  all 
our  anxious  cares  is  your  personal  welfare  and  good 
conduct.  I  said  the  best ;  but,  my  dear  son,  I  must 
make  one  exception,  a  vital  and  fundamental  one. 
There  is  a  dearer  wish  that  I  cherish  for  you :  that 
you  may  turn  away  from  the  vain  show  of  this  per- 
ishing world,  and  place  your  affections  on  Him  whose 
you  are,  and  whom  you  are  bound  to  love  and  serve. 

This,  my  dear ,  is  the  highest  wisdom.    '  Seek  the 

Lord  while  He  may  be  found.' 

"Yours  very  truly." 
12 


202  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 


"Washington,  June  2, 1834, 

"  My  dear , — Your  letter  to  Aunt  C was 

duly  received,  and  we  are  glad  to  find  that  you  are 
•well,  studious,  and  home-sick.  I  long  again  to  have 
you,  with  F ,  by  my  side,  riding  the  roan  and  buy- 
ing the  seabass.  Home  will  be  very  sweet.  I  hojDe 
we  shall  get  away  by  the  1st  of  July. 

"I  should  think  you  had  learned  enough  of  the 
bones  to  set  them  when  broken,  and  of  the  constitu- 
tion to  patch  it  somewhat  when  out  of  order ;  but  this 
I  leave  with  the  doctors.  How  does  it  fare  with  the 
mind  ?  There  is  a  great  salvation  wrought  out  for  us 
at  infinite  cost.  It  has  been  tendered  to  you,  my  son, 
in  repeated  offers,  under  many  favorable  circumstan- 
ces. Your  eternal  destiny  depends  on  your  treatment 
of  it,  and  where  does  it  stand  in  your  regard  ?  Do 
not,  I  beg  of  you,  hurry  over  this  subject  as  one  which 
you  expect  to  have  referred  as  a  matter  of  course  by 
me.  It  is  a  deep,  personal,  practical  concern.  Could 
we  realize  in  any  measure  its  vast  importance,  its  con- 
nection with  ages  of  interminable  existence,  our  won- 
der would  be  that  we  could  feel  so  little  anxiety.  May 
the  good  Spirit  of  God  guide  you  into  all  truth,  and 
to  a  happy  choice,  that  when  death  shall  summon  you 

away  (and,  my  dear ,  this  may  be  soon,  and  can 

not,  at  the  longest,  be  very  fiir),  you  may  be  ready  to 
meet  your  Maker  and  Judge  in  peace. 
"  Yours  very  truly." 

"Newark,Nov.  13,  1834. 

"  Dear , — I  am  happy  to  learn  from  your  let- 
ters that  you  are  at  hard  study.  I  know  that  it  is 
wholesome.  The  brain  needs  action.  It  is  like  a  flint 
• — to  have  fire  you  must  strike  it.  And  this  calls  up 
another  forcible  illustration.  Look  at  the  hardy  forge- 
man,  with  his  brawny  arm  and  vigorous  sinew.  What 
gave  him  all  this  but  swinging  the  ponderous  sledge 
that  he  holds.     Once  it  made  him  pant  to  wield  it; 


•"       CORRESPONDENCE.  203 

now  he  can  toss  it  as  a  plaything.  So  it  is  with  the 
mind.  If  you  wish  to  give  it  strength,  and  tone,  and 
compass,  you  must  put  its  powers  to  the  trial,  bring 
them  out  to  stern,  severe,  and  laborious  exercise. 
There  is  but  one  way  to  eminence,  and  it  is  not  a  roy- 
al road.  It  is  rough,  thorny,  up-hill,  full  of  lions  to  the 
indolent  and  faint-hearted,  but,  with  all  its  adversities, 
delightful  to  the  earnest  and  enthusiastic.  To  them 
it  repays,  as  they  struggle  up  and  over  its  difficulties. 
"  And  thus  too,  my  dear  son,  would  you  attain  the 
far  more  exalted  place,  even  a  place  and  a  name  among 
the  followers  of  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory.  You  must 
strive  to  enter  it ;  give  all  diligence ;  pray  with  all 
prayer  and  supplication  ;  deny  yourself,  and  renounce 
this  vain  world  as  a  portion.  Yen  must  come  down 
as  a  humble  penitent  to  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  there, 
where  the  blessed  Son  of  God  shed  His  own  blood  for 
the  remission  of  sin — there  confess  all  your  transgres- 
sions, and  look  up  in  His  name  to  a  gracious  God,  if, 
peradventure,  He  will  look  upon  you  in  mercy,  and 
receive  you  to  His  everlasting  favor.  His  promise  is 
sure  and  large  as  the  world :  '  Him  that  cometh  unto 
me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  Believe  this  precious 
declaration,  cast  your  soul  upon  it,  and  all  will  be  well 
with  you.     *     *     * 

"Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours." 

"Washington, December  3, 1 834. 

"Dear , — Your  favor  was  duly  received,  and 

we  are  glad  to  learn  that  your  cold  is  better.  I  think 
you  must  enjoy  the  delights  of  study ;  no  cares  except 
the  student's,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  and  a 
regular  and  systematic  course  of  study.  The  latter  is 
invaluable  to  literary  advancement.  By-and-by  the 
knock  of  the  patient  and  the  calls  of  business  will  in- 
terrupt all  this  order.  Therefore,  my  son,  improve 
the  present  occasion,  and  while  anxious  to  learn  how 
you  may  heal  the  maladies  of  the  body,  do  not  forget 


204  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

tliat  sin  has  spread  its  poison  over  your  soul,  and  look 
to  the  great  Physician  who  alone  can  heal. 

"  I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  Message.  It  has  length 
and  variety ;  a  little  too  harsh  upon  France,  and  a 
great  deal  too  severe  against  the  Bank.  It  exhibits 
the  tact  of  its  authors.  But  enough  of  politics ;  I  am 
very  tired  of  them.  It  will  be,  my  son,  very  pleasant 
to  meet  again  at  our  own  fireside,  and  there  rejoice  to- 
gether in  the  goodness  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
"  Yours  very  truly." 

"  Washington,  December  5, 1834. 

"My  dear  , — Your  letter  was  received  this 

morning  and  read  with  deep  interest.  I  rejoice  to 
learn  that  your  mind  has  been  so  long  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  religion  and  of  making  your  peace 
with  God,  and  the  recent  and  unexpected  breach  upon 
our  little  circle  should  increase  your  anxiety.  It  does 
speak  to  us  all  in  affecting  language  to  be  also  ready 
when  the  summons  comes.  That  a  merciful  God  has 
restrained  you  by  His  grace  from  the  commission  of 
many  sins  is  matter  for  unceasing  thankfulness ;  that 
you  can  trace  His  kind  hand  in  all  this  is  encourage- 
ment for  you  to  cast  j^our  soul  upon  His  grace,  and 
give  yourself  away  to  His  service  forever.  Religion 
concerns  the  state  of  the  heart  toward  God.  By  na- 
ture this  is  at  enmity  with  Him.  Can  you  require 
farther  proof  of  this  than  your  own  past  course? 
Have  you  not  preferred  the  world  or  your  own  inter- 
est to  Him  ?  Do  you  not  feel  a  proneness  to  get  away 
from  God,  and  to  place  your  affections  supremely  on 
other  objects  than  Him  and  His  service?  All  this 
must  be  mourned  and  repented  of.  The  way  of  sal- 
vation by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  must  be  approved  of 
and  trusted  in.  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  that  we  might 
be  pardoned  through  faith  in  His  blood.  God  will 
not  accept  our  righteousness,  but  requires  us  to  believe 
in  His  Son  for  righteousness.     'He  that  believeth 


COERESPONDENCE.  205 

shall  be  saved.'  Is  your  heart  willing  to  be  saved  in 
this  way — a  way  that  gives  all  the  glory  of  your  sal- 
vation to  Christ,  and  humbles  and  strips  the  sinner  of 
all  merit?  So  far,  my  son,  as  pardon  and  justification 
are  concerned,  God  has  been  graciously  pleased  to 
make  this  depend  on  our  belief  and  acceptance.  Christ 
offers  us  peace  freely,  without  money  and  without 
price,  and  if  we  will.  He  is  abundantly  willing  to  save 
us.  Kead  and  pray  over  the  third  chapter  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  John.  There  our  blessed  Savior  brings  out  the 
love  of  God,  the  condescension  and  grace  of  the  Ke- 
deemer,  and  the  only  way  of  salvation. 

"  One  of  your  dangers  will  or  may  arise  from  your 
heart  being  unwilling  to  go  to  Christ  without  some 
other  reliance — on  your  prayers,  or  good  resolutions, 
or  breaking  off  the  practice  of  sin.  But  God  requires 
you  to  come,  guilty  and  helpless  as  you  are,  and  trust 
all  to  His  infinite  grace.  Eeceive  the  Savior,  and  then 
you  will  love  and  strive  to  be  holy.  Faith  works  by 
love  and  purifies  the  heart. 

"  My  dear ,  this  is  a  most  solemn  crisis  for  your 

soul.  Be  in  earnest,  my  son.  Be  constant  in  prayer 
for  His  divine  teaching.  Pray  over  His  "Word,  espe- 
cially the  Gospels,  and  particularly  the  whole  of  John. 
And,  in  addition,  I  recommend  to  you  Doddridge's 
'  Else  and  Progress  of  Eeligion  in  the  Soul.'  It  has 
been  blessed  to  thousands.  Oh,  that  it  may  be  so  to 
you !  Be  not  ashamed  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospel. 
The  adversary,  the  world,  probably  your  own  heart, 
may  try  you  here.  Believe  not  their  false  and  wick- 
ed suggestions.  Eeligion  is  the  glory  of  our  nature. 
Ashamed  of  the  service  of  the  Infinite  God ! — a  worm 
of  the  dust  guilty  of  such  hateful  pride — that  service 
in  which  the  purest  and  most  exalted  spirits  around 
His  throne  delight  to  engage  as  the  highest  glory  of 
their  natures !  No  wonder  our  Savior  denounces  the 
awful  malediction  on  all  such,  'Whosoever  shall  be 
ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words,  of  him  also  shall  the 


206  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Son  of  Man  be  asliamed  when  He  cometh  in  His 
glory.' 

*'If  Mr.  J be  still  in ,1  hope  you  will  con- 
verse freely  with  him.  He  is  a  judicious,  excellent 
counselor.  He  loves  you  as  a  friend,  and  loves  your 
soul.  My  dear  son,  be  sober,  be  vigilant.  Watch  unto 
prayer.  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate.  And 
may  the  Lord  in  infinite  mercy  guide,  and  enlighten, 
and  save  you,  is  the  fervent  prayer  of 

"  Yours  very  sincerely  and  affectionately." 

"Washington,  December  17,  1834. 
"  My  dear , — I  have  just  read  and  been  deep- 
ly interested  in  your  letter.  I  am  rejoiced  to  learn 
that  you  feel  a  measure  of  your  own  foulness  as  well 
as  guilt.  Be  not  too  soon  discouraged,  my  son.  Bless 
the  Lord  that  He  has  given  you  any  sense  of  3'our 
character  and  condition,  and  led  you  to  feel  at  all  your 
need  of  a  Savior.  Pray  for  His  Spirit  to  teach,  and 
sanctify,  and  strengthen  you.  Cast  your  soul  entirely 
upon  the  infinite  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  Stay 
not  back  for  loorthiness  ;  the  best  preparation  is  to  re- 
alize your  unworthiness.  I  send  you  a  precious  little 
volume  that  I  pray  may  be  helpful  to  you.  It  is  by 
one  of  the  best  men  of  England.  It  is  rich  in  thought 
and  scriptural  directions.  Let  us  hear  soon  again  from 
you.  I  am  vividly  anxious  for  your  eternal  welfare. 
"Yours  very  truly." 

"  Washington,  January  13,  1835. 
"My  dear , — Your  very  grateful  and  satisfac- 
tory letter  was  received  yesterday  morning,  and  I  trust 
that  my  heart  does  in  some  feeble  measure  bless  the 
Lord  that  He  has  led  you  by  His  Spirit,  as  I  hope,  out 
of  nature's  darkness  and  from  the  reigning  power  of 
sin  to  the  love  of  His  blessed  and  holy  character,  law, 
and  service.  I  have  never  desired  for  you  the  great 
things  of  this  world,  but  that  you  might  have  a  por- 
tion among  His  own  children.     The  matters  of  which 


CORRESPONDENCE.  207 

you  speak  as  depressing  your  spirits  should  not  dis- 
hearten you. 

"  My  dear  son,  this  life  is  a  trial  of  faith  and  pa- 
tience, of  conflict  and  endurance.  Our  joy  is  in  the 
promise,  '  My  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  thee.  My 
strength  shall  be  made  perfect  in  weakness.'  Kepair, 
then,  constantly  to  the  throne  of  grace.  Strive  to  walk 
with  God,  to  be  daily  and  hourly  in  the  exercise  of 
believing  prayer  and  humble  confidence.  Love  your 
closet  and  your  Bible.  Keep  near  to  these  means  of 
grace.  The  closet  is  a  fountain  of  living  influences. 
But,  above  all,  look  to  the  Author  of  all  these  means 
that  He  would  make  them  effectual. 

"I  will  write  soon  to  our  dear .     I  pray  that 

her  heart  may  be  touched  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
quickened  into  life,  convinced  of  sin  and  recovered  to 

the  service  of  God.     I  hope  you  will  write  to , 

and  be  faithful  to  his  soul. 

"  Yery  truly  and  affectionately  yours." 

The  ensuing  was  addressed  to  another  young  rela- 
tive on  the  choice  of  a  profession : 

"Newark,  September  24,  1833. 

"  My  dear  Nephew, — I  duly  received  your  favor, 
and,  in  respect  to  the  pursuit  of  your  studies,  I  think 
it  preferable  to  enter  Mr. 's  office.  The  advant- 
age of  his  experience  and  counsels  will  far  more  than 
remunerate  the  expense.  Perhaps  it  will  be  better  to 
wait  until  after  the  fall  election,  for  probably  he  may 

again  fill  the 's  chair.     So  far  as  to  advice  upon 

a  specific  case  stated. 

"  Now  I  must  beg  a  moment's  attention  to  the  whole 
matter.  You  desire,  I  trust,  to  take  that  station  which 
will  most  glorify  your  Redeemer  by  your  labors  in 
His  cause.  Now  is  it  clear  to  your  mind  that  such 
place  is  at  the  bar?  The  profession  is  crowded  with 
lawyers — many  more  now  in  it  than  can  be  usefully 
employed.     I  know  this  is  not  a  sufficient  reason  to 


208  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

debar  one  wlio  will  bring  industry  and  piety  to  bis 
aid ;  but  still  it  is  an  item  to  be  weighed.  The  call 
for  laborers  in  the  Lord's  vinej^ard  is  louder  and  loud- 
er every  day.  Thousands  are  now  needed  to  bear  the 
message  of  life  and  salvation  to  a  dying  world ;  and 
will  not  the  gracious  returns  be  sweet  and  precious 
through  eternal  ages,  of  a  life  devoted  in  self-denying 
efforts  to  win  souls  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  You 
have  talents  well  fitted  to  the  pulpit,  and  I  commend 
the  case  to  your  careful  consideration.  Weigh  it  loell ; 
ponder  it  in  all  its  relations ;  pray  earnestly  for  Divine 
direction ;  and  may  the  Spirit  of  all  truth  guide  you 
in  this  important  matter. 

"  Eemember,  my  dear  nephew,  that  to  decide  safely 
3^ou  must  strive  to  regard  the  claim  as  single,  and  in- 
volved in  the  proper  answer  to  the  inquiry,  How  shall 
I  best  live  to  the  glory  of  my  Maker  and  the  good  of 
my  fellow-men  ?  Yours  very  truly." 

To  another  he  wrote  thus : 

"Newark,  June  23,  1838. 

"  My  dear  Nephew, — There  has  been  a  chasm  in 
our  correspondence  that  I  intended  to  prevent  by  an 
earlier  reply  to  your  last  letter ;  but  my  engagements 
have  been  unusually  pressing  the  present  season,  and 
left  me  little  time  or  leisure  in  my  office.  I  was  grat- 
ified by  the  general  spirit  of  your  remarks  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  but,  my  dear ,  I  wish  you  to  re- 
gard this  great  subject  with  a  more  personal  and  prac- 
tical consideration.  One  of  my  fears  for  you  is  delay 
— a  postponement  of  the  soul's  eternal  interests  from 
one  period  to  another,  on  a  sort  of  indefinite  assurance 
to  your  own  mind,  not  very  distinctly  made,  that  it 
shall  in  the  future  receive  its  due  reflection  and  con- 
cern. 

"  Now  you  have  no  hold  upon  the  future.  God  has 
it  all,  with  every  breath  of  our  nostrils,  under  His  ab- 
solute control.     He  may  grant  many  days ;  He  may 


CORRESPONDENCE.  209 

cut  tliem  off  in  a  moment,  long  before  the  noon.  He 
claims,  my  dear  son,  your  best  affections,  your  time, 
your  whole  heart.  In  His  Gospel  He  meets  you  as  a 
fallen  sinner,  not  in  His  wrath,  but  in  His  mercy,  and 
offers  to  pardon  your  sins  and  smile  upon  you  with 
His  favor  if  you  will  return  in  the  exercise  of  a  peni- 
tent heart,  believing  in  His  blessed  Son  as  your  Sav- 
ior. Surely  these  terms  are  easy  and  reasonable.  We 
may  have  eternal  life  if  ive  ivill  choose  it.  We  may 
have  an  atoning  Savior  if  we  will  accept  of  Him,  and 
yield  our  hearts  to  His  service.  We  may  hope  in  the 
mercy  of  God  if  we  will  forsake  our  sins  and  return 
to  His  service. 

"Life  and  death  are  thus  set  before  you.  All  that 
is  glorious  in  heaven  and  terrible  in  the  world  of  de- 
spair press  upon  your  attention  to  consider — now, 
while  you  are  a  prisoner  of  hope,  while  God  waits  to 
be  gracious,  that  you  would  forsake  your  sins  and  fly 
to  the  Savior. 

"  Seek  the  light  and  strength  of  His  blessed  Spirit 
to  enlighten  your  mind  and  to  enable  you  to  lay  firm 
hold  of  the  Gospel  hope.     That  you  may  be  thus 
guided  and  blessed  is  among  the  constant  prayers  of 
"  Yours  affectionately." 

The  following  characteristic  letters  were  addressed 
to  the  Eev.  James  A.  H.  Cornell,  D.I). : 

"New  Brunswick,  March  4,  1854. 

"  My  dear  Nephew, — I  am  concerned  to  find  that 
you  are  still  so  much  of  an  invalid,  but  rejoice  in  the 
tokens  of  returning  health.  I  suppose  that  your  heart 
to  labor  was  rather  stronger  than  the  frame-work  in 
which  it  beats,  and  when  this  is  the  case  it  will  strike 
against  the  sides,  and  thus  vindicate  the  rights  of  the 
poor  body. 

"  But  i  hope  and  must  believe  that  you  have  en- 
joyed some  sweet  seasons  in  your  suffering.  There 
is  a  precious  kind  of  logic  in  God's  Word  which  does 


210  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUySEN". 

not  need  any  syllogism  to  give  it  strength.  '  Rejoice 
in  tribulation ;  for  tribulation  worketh  patience,  and 
patience  experience,  and  experience  hope,  and  hope 
maketh  not  ashamed.'  The  fruits  are  so  rich  and  com- 
forting ;  and,  when  the  pains  are  past,  these  remain  to 
cheer  and  bless  us  here  and  forever. 

"  May  you  soon  be  enabled  to  show  your  dear  peo- 
ple how  faithful  and  true  is  the  everlasting  covenant. 
With  best  regards  to  your  good  wife. 
"Very  truly  yours." 

"  New  Brunswick,  April  24, 1860. 

"Dear  Nephew, — I  am  quite  anxious  to  hear  of 
your  welfare.  A  severe  influenza  for  a  fortnight  has 
detained  me  from  New  York,  so  that  I  am  uninform- 
ed of  your  condition  and  plans.  I  concluded  to  pro- 
voke a  letter  by  a  letter.  I  hope  that  you  are  better, 
and  will  soon  move  again  in  your  cherished  labors  in 
your  blessed  Master's  vineyard. 

"  Since  I  saw  you  we  have  parted  with  Brother 
Judd.  He  died  full  of  peace,  in  sweet  and  tranquil 
hope.  It  was  very  grateful  to  witness  the  affectionate 
respect  to  his  memory  at  the  funeral  in  Bloomfield. 
A  committee  of  his  Montgomery  Church  attended, 
and  a  very  large  concourse  of  his  Bloomfield  congre- 
gation and  the  surrounding  churches  of  Newark,  Cald- 
well, Orange,  etc.,  etc.  It  was  a  beautiful  illustration 
of  the  word  of  promise,  '  The  memory  of  the  just  is 
blessed.'  It  is  a  blessed  Gospel  which,  as  Robert  Hall 
remarked,  takes  up  its  friends  where  the  world  for- 
sakes its  votaries.  Bloomfield  provided  the  burial  lot, 
inclosed  by  a  neat  iron  fence.  Montgomery  and  Cats- 
kill  have  resolved  to  erect  the  monument  to  the  mem- 
ory of  their  beloved  minister.  *  *  * 
"  Very  truly  yours." 

"New  Brunswick,  April  1, 1861. 
"Dear  Nephew, — I  learned  with  great  concern 
from  the  papers  that  the  state  of  your  health  had  con- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  211 

strained  you  to  resign  your  place  in  the  Education  So- 
ciety.* I  sympathize  with  you  in  this  trial,  I  trust 
the  needed  relaxation  will,  by  the  blessing  of  Divine 
Providence,  soon  restore  you,  and  that  a  large  meas- 
ure of  usefulness  in  the  Gospel  ministry  will  yet  re- 
main for  you. 

"  Your  agency  has  been  richly  compensated  in  its 
abundant  fruits — fruits  that  will  be  felt  for  genera- 
tions to  come  in  time,  and  that  will  flow  over  to  the 
ages  of  eternity.  Our  Dutch  Church  owes  you  much 
for  the  enlargement  of  her  borders  and  the  increase  of 
her  ministry. 

"When  the  weather  softens,  it  will  be  a  very  good 
restorative  for  you  to  make  us  a  visit  with  your  good 
wife,  and  take  a  look  on  the  ground  of  your  labors, 
and  see  whether  the  plants  you  put  in  here  have  taken 
root,  and  how  they  grow.  It  will  cheer  me  amid  many 
perplexing  cares  of  the  college,  and  I  hope  will  re- 
fresh you.     *     -5*     * 

"  A  few  lines  from  you  will  also  do  good  to  me  and 
to  yourself.  It  is  the  next  best  to  the  sight  of  a  friend. 
These  trials  of  health  and  patience  are  part  of  the  '  all 
things  that  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God.'  How  sweet  is  the  ^consolation  to  take  the  trial 
to  the  throne,  and  plead  for  and  expect  the  benefit. 
The  very  recourse  to  God  that  it  urges  is  itself  a  rich 
blessing,  as  is  any  cause  which  brings  us  near  to  our 
Savior  and  keeps  us  there. 

"  Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours." 

"New Brunswick,  Feb.  7,  1862. 

"Dear  Nephew, — It  seems  a  long  time  since  I 
have  heard  from  you  or  of  you.  I  have  been  medi- 
tating an  assault  in  this  mode  for  some  days,  and  this 
not  only  to  hear  a  word  of  your  welfare,  but  also  to 
assure  you  that  you  have  the  same  warm  place  in  my 

*  Dr.  Cornell  had  been  for  some  years  the  Secretaiy  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church. 


212  LIFE  OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

remembrance  that  you  Lave  always  held.  And  how 
is  it  with  you  ?  Is  your  health  improved  ?  Hath  pa- 
tience its  perfect  work  ?  Do  you  feel  thankful  for  its 
trials  ? 

"  How  is  your  good  wife  ?  "We  often  speak  of  you. 
"We  have  had  a  winter  of  much  ill  health.  My  good 
wife  was  confined  for  four  weeks  by  a  serious  cough, 
and  I  for  ten  days.  But  the  Lord  has  kindly  restored 
us.  The  students  have  suffered  much ;  four  are  now 
recovering  from  fevers.  *  *  * 
"  Yery  truly  yours." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1861,  the  Eev.  Dr.  De 
"Witt  was  bereaved  of  his  youngest  daughter,  a  young 
lady  of  uncommon  excellence.  Soon  afterward  the 
following  note  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to 
his  intimate  friends,  the  mourning  parents : 

"New  Brunswick,  Nov.  7,  1861. 

"  My  DEAR  AFFLICTED  Friends, — I  deeply  feel  and 
mourn  your  severe  bereavement.  My  heart  bleeds 
with  you  and  for  you.  There  is  no  alleviation  from 
earth,  or  I  would  earnestly  £eek  it  for  you ;  but  there 
is  precious  consolation  in  me  thought  that  the  Lord 
has  done  it — that  it  is  a  part  of  His  counsels  from  ev- 
erlasting— that  every  stage  of  it,  with  every  pain,  and 
sigh,  and  tear — not  one  more  nor  one  less,  formed  the 
scheme  of  His  dispensation.  And,  my  dear  friends, 
is  it  not  a  sweet  comfort  to  remember  that '  He  knows 
your  sorrows,'  and  His  compassionate  heart  says  to 
you,  '  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will 
deliver  thee  r"  May  His  gracious  Spirit  be  with  you, 
to  sustain  your  afflicted  hearts,  and  enrich  you  with 
the  choicest  fruits  of  sanctified  tribulation !  In  all 
which  my  dear  wife  unites. 

"  Very  truly  your  friend  and  brother  in  the  best  of 
bonds. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  DeWitt." 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   213 


CHAPTEE  XIL 

CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS. 

A.  B.  C.  F.  M. — American  Bible  Society. — American  Tract  Society. 
—  American  Colonization  Society.  —  American  Sunday-school 
Union. — American  Temperance  Union. 

From  an  early  period  of  liis  life  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
was  in  the  habit  of  advocating  on  the  platform  the 
claims  of  organized  Christian  benevolence.  This  habit 
was  due  not  to  any  zeal  for  notoriety  or  any  love  for 
the  excitements  of  popular  speaking,  but  to  his  deep 
interest  in  philanthropic  enterprises,  and  his  earnest 
desire  to  do  what  he  could  for  the  welfare  of  his  fel- 
low-men. His  name,  and  position,  and  character  add- 
ed attractiveness  to  his  speech,  and  his  efforts  were  re- 
ceived with  general  acceptance.  Being  thus  brought 
into  contact  with  those  intrusted  with  the  direction  of 
the  great  benevolent  associations  of  the  age,  and  the 
benefits  of  his  counsel  and  influence  being  perceived, 
he  was  gradually  introduced  into  a  closer  connection 
with  their  interior  working,  and  a  more  responsible 
position  in  their  management.  This  extended  so  far 
that  it  may  be  truly  said  that  no  American  layman 
was  ever  associated  with  so  many  great  national  or- 
ganizations of  religion  and  charity.  He  was  or  had 
been  president  of  no  less  than  four,  while  his  name  is 
fonnd  upon  the  list  of  oflficerv'=!  of  nil  the  rest,  with 
scarcely  an  exception. 


214  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

The  institution  over  which  he  presided  for  the  long- 
est term  of  years,  and  in  which  his  interest  was  the 
most  deeply  cherished,  was  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  founded  at 
Boston  in  1810,  well  known  throughout  Christendom 
for  the  faith  of  its  founders,  the  wisdom  of  its  manage- 
ment, the  wide  extent  of  its  operations,  the  zeal,  abil- 
ity, and  piety  of  its  laborers,  and  the  large  success 
which  has  attended  its  efforts.  He  was  chosen  one  of 
its  corporate  members  in  1826,  and  attended  its  an- 
nual meetings  as  often  as  circumstances  permitted. 
His  farther  connection  with  the  Board  is  well  shown 
in  the  following  extract  from  a  communication  made 
to  the  author  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Treat,  one  of  the  secre- 
taries : 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  chosen  President  of  the 
Board  in  1841.  No  selection  could  have  been  more 
acceptable  to  our  entire  constituency.  His  career  as 
a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  had  secured  for 
him  a  most  enviable  reputation.  As  a  man  of  integ- 
rity and  ability  he  had  the  respect  of  all.  As  a  Chris- 
tian and  philanthropist  he  stood  second  to  none.  Much 
as  Jersey  men  loved  and  honored  him,  it  admits  of  a 
serious  question  whether  others  were  a  whit  behind 
them  in  this  regard. 

"  During  the  sixteen  years  of  his  presidency,  noth- 
ing occurred  to  lessen  the  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held.  His  deportment  in  the  chair,  always  dignified 
and  courteous — his  annual  address,  always  earnest 
and  effective — made  him  a  universal  favorite.  It  was 
with  the  profoundest  regret,  therefore,  that  we  saw 
him  relinquish  his  position.     We  felt  that  we  were 


CONNECTION  "WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   215 

parting  from  a  dear  and  venerable  friend  who  had 
long  been  the  central  figure  in  our  pleasant  convoca- 
tions. 

"  The  reason  of  his  withdrawal  is  thus  stated  in  a  let- 
ter written  by  him  to  the  nominating  committee  of 
the  Board,  dated  Providence,  September  10, 1857 : 

"  'Dear  Brethren, — The  recent  action  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church, 
of  which  I  am  an  humble  member,  in  deciding  here- 
after to  conduct  their  foreign  missions  on  their  own 
distinct  Church  organization,  renders  it  becoming  and 
proper  for  me  to  decline,  as  I  hereby  do,  a  nomination 
and  choice  to  the  office  of  president  of  your  Board. 
The  generous  Christian  confidence  that  first  elected, 
and  has  long  continued  me  in  that  place  of  distinguish- 
ed honor,  will  be  among  the  precious  recollections 
of  my  life.  With  deep  personal  regret  I  part  with 
you.' 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  express  the  sense  of 
the  Board,  in  view  of  its  bereavement,  reported  the 
following  resolutions,  which  were  cordially  adopted : 

"  '  Resolved^  That  in  addition  to  the  deep  regret  which 
this  Board  has  experienced  in  the  separation,  not  in 
feeling,  but  in  action,  from  our  brethren  of  the  Reform- 
ed Dutch  Church,  we  feel  that  our  trial  is  rendered 
more  severe,  and  our  regret  more  deep,  by  the  fact 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  sundering  of  these  ties,  we 
have  also  been  compelled  to  relinquish  our  beloved 
presiding  ofiicer. 

"  ^Besolved,  That  this  Board  have  received  with  deep 
emotion  and  unaffected  grief  the  communication  from 
our  late  president  in  which  he  declines  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  renomination  or  re-election. 

"  ^  Resolved^  That  we  can  not  permit  him  to  retire 
from  an  office  which  he  has  filled  to  such  universal 
acceptance  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years  without  an 


216  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

expression,  not  simply  of  regret  at  parting,  but  also  of 
our  high  appreciation  of  the  valuable  services  which 
be  has  rendered  during  his  period  of  office. 

^'  '■Resolved^  That  in  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  we 
have  found  combined  qualifications  which  singularly 
fitted  him  to  preside  over  the  deliberations  of  such  a 
body ;  bringing  to  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties 
ripe  experience  in  parliamentary  rules  and  forms, 
promptness,  accuracy,  and  impartiality  in  the  transac- 
tion of  business,  keen  insight  into  character,  tact  and 
judgment  in  facilitating  the  dispatch  of  business,  uni- 
form courtesy  in  his  intercourse  with  all  the  members 
of  the  Board — wisely  and  happily  blending  mildness, 
and  even  gentleness,  with  unhesitating  firmness  and 
energy ;  one  of  whom  we  can  safely  say  we  have  not 
known  his  superior  as  a  presiding  officer;  and  com- 
bining with  these  peculiar  qualifications  for  his  station 
warm-hearted  piety  and  fervid  eloquence. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  Hon.  Theodore  Fre- 
linghuysenour  cordial  wishes  that  he  may  yet  enjoy 
many  years  of  usefulness  and  happiness  in  his  new 
field  of  honorable  duty.' 

"  These  resolutions  were  prepared  by  one  who  has 
enjoyed  a  large  acquaintance  with  deliberative  assem- 
blies, and  who  therefore  knows  whereof  he  affirms. 

"  For  reasons  which  were  perfectly  satisfactory,  Mr. 
Frclinghuysen  refused  to  make  a  farewell  address  at 
Providence ;  but,  a  few  days  later,  he  sent  a  letter  to 
'the  secretaries  and  presidential  committee,'  which  I 
will  transfer  to  these  pages.     It  is  as  follows : 

"  '  Dear  Brethren, — In  our  interesting  interviews 
at  Providence,  I  suggested  that  the  matter  of  a  fare- 
well speech  I  could  better  arrange  by  letter ;  that  the 
separation  involved  to  me  so  much  of  feeling  that  I 
could  not  well  intrust  it  to  a  public  occasion.  When 
our  several  Christian  denominations,  the  Congregation- 
al, Old  and  New  School  Presbyterian,  and  the  licform- 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   217 

ed  Protestant  Dutch,  all  labored  in  love  together  on 
benighted  and  heathen  fields,  it  struck  me  as  a  beauti- 
ful type  of  our  blessed  Master's  religion  in  its  aspects 
toward  these  lands  of  darkness.  The  heathen  saw 
that,  indeed,  the  followers  of  Christ  were  '  one ;'  one 
in  profession,  in  principle,  and  in  action ;  that  they 
who  thought  alike  could  and  did  work  together.  But 
it  seems  that  this  good  time  is  yet  to  wait.  I  believe 
that  we  shall  hail  this  blessed  temper  in  universal 
prevalence,  when  the  salvation  of  our  fellow-men  shall 
so  fill  our  anxieties  and  our  prayers,  so  shape  our 
plans  and  quicken  all  our  endeavors,  that  Christians 
will  have  time  only  to  rejoice  that  in  so  many  things 
they  agree,  and  will  want  time  and  heart  to  detect  and 
expose  the  few  unessential  things  in  which  they  may 
differ.  For  this  heavenly  union  let  us,  dear  brethren, 
pray  and  labor. 

'"In  parting  from  you,  I  feel  as  a  child  parting  from 
a  venerated  and  beloved  mother.  Like  a  mother  you 
have  cherished  us,  when  we  were  few  and  feeble.  You 
took  us  under  the  wings  of  your  care,  and  linked  our 
interests  together.  We  thank  you  for  all  your  kind- 
ness. "We  thank  God  for  the  precious  seasons  of 
Christian  privilege  that  we  have  enjoj^ed'  together. 
We  have  often  gone  up  to  the  heights  of  Zion,  and 
looked  down  upon  this  dark  world,  and  traced  the 
footsteps  of  our  wonder-working  God  and  Redeemer. 
And  from  these  "  heavenly  places"  we  have  together 
hailed  the  first  streaks  of  the  morning,  the  sure  tokens 
of  that  coming  glory  which  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
shall  shed  upon  this  benighted  and  sin-stricken  world. 
These  hallowed  seasons  will  be  for  grateful  thanksgiv- 
ing in  that  blessed  world  where  partings  never  grie\*e, 
and  the  past  shall  be  recalled  only  to  augment  the 
pleasures  of  a  sanctified  memory. 

" '  As  the  American  Board  was  the  first  Christian 
association  to  which,  in  m}^  youth,  I  found  it  a  privi- 
lege to  give,  so  it  shall  continue  to  receive  the  yearly 

K 


218  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

contributions  of  a  very  liumble  store,  as  God  shall 
prosper  me. 

"  '  With  affectionate  regards,  dear  brethren,  very  sin- 
cerely your  friend  and  brother  in  the  best  of  bonds, 
" '  Theo.  Frelinghuysen.' 

"  To  this  communication,  one  of  the  secretaries,  in 
behalf  of  the  prudential  committee  and  of  his  associ- 
ates, replied,  'For  yourself  personally  we  shall  ever 
cherish  the  highest  regard  and  the  warmest  Christian 
affection.  Your  whole  course  in  respect  to  the  Board 
has  been  such  that  we  could  not  wish  it  to  have  been 
otherwise,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  uni- 
versal sentiment  among  the  members  and  friends  of 
the  Board.  These  delightful  and  hallowed  seasons 
which  we  have  spent  together  on  earth  will  be  remem- 
bered in  heaven,  increasing  the  richness  and  sweetness 
of  that  blessed  communion  of  saints  which  will  have 
no  interruption  and  know  no  end.' 

"Allow  me  to  say  that  my  own  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1836, 
when  I  became  pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Newark.  I  had  formed  a  very  high  esti- 
mate of  his  character,  but  when  I  knew  him  personal- 
ly my  regard  for  him  only  increased.  I  have  often 
said  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  is  one  of  the  select  few  whose 
greatness  does  not  contract  upon  a  nearer  approach. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully  and  fraternally 
yours,  S.  B.  Treat,  Sec.  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M." 

AMERICAN   BIBLE   SOCIETY. 

The  constancy  and  thoroughness  of  Mr.Frelinghuy- 
sen's  devotional  study  of  the  Scriptures  has  already 
been  mentioned.  The  rich  experimental  knowledge 
he  thus  attained  of  the  value  of  the  Sacred  Volume 
naturally  led  him  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  all  proper 
schemes  for  increasing  the  circulation  of  it  among  all 


CONNECTION  WITH   BENEVOLENT   INSTITUTIONS.   219 

classes  of  men.  He  did  much  in  this  respect  in  a  pri- 
vate way  all  his  life,  and  at  the  same  time  cordially 
co-operated  with  the  great  national  institution  found- 
ed for  the  purpose  in  the  year  1816.  A  succinct  state- 
ment of  his  connection  with  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety is  given  in  the  following  letter,  kindly  furnished 
by  one  of  the  secretaries : 

"Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York,  March  3, 1863, 

''  Eev.  T.  W.  Chambers,,  D.D.  : 

"  Dear  Brother, — At  your  request  I  submit  the 
following  brief  statement  respecting  the  services  of 
the  late  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  during  the  thir- 
ty-two years  of  his  official  relations  to  the  American 
Bible  Society. 

"In  1830  he  was  elected  a  vice-president,  in  the 
room  of  that  eminent  Christian  jurist,  the  Hon.  An- 
drew Kirkpatrick,  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  Jersey,  who  had  deceased  a  short  time  before. 
In  the  year  1846  he  was  unanimously  elected  to  the 
presidency  of  the  institution,  succeeding  the  Hon. 
John  Cotton  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  who  for  fifteen 
years  previous  to  his  death,  in  a  ripe  old  age,  had  oc- 
cupied the  high  station.  (The  date  of  this  election 
was  April  2, 1846.)  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  not  the 
least  of  the  illustrious  men  who  have  filled  the  presi- 
dency of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  his  name 
will  be  cherished  by  all  who  can  appreciate  the  mem- 
ories of  Elias  Boudinot,  John  Jay,  Eichard  Varick, 
and  John  Cotton  Smith — men  whose  services  were 
given  to  the  state  and  the  Church  with  the  power  of 
a  noble  Christian  consecration.  The  following  is  his 
letter  of  acceptance  of  the  office : 

'"Newark,  April,  17, 1846. 

"  '  Gentlemen, — Your  favor  of  the  3d  inst.,  inform- 
ing me  of  my  appointment  to  the  office  of  President 
of  the  American  Bible  Society,  has  been  duly  received. 


220  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

I  am  deeply  impressed  -with  the  honor  done  me  by 
this  mark  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Board  of 
Managers.  And,  in  accepting  the  important  station 
proffered,  it  shall  be  my  earnest  purpose,  after  my  hum- 
ble measure,  to  co-operate  with  the  Board  of  Managers 
in  giving  increased  circulation  to  that  sacred  Book, 
which  reveals  the  best  and  only  lasting  hope  for  our- 
selves, our  country,  and  the  world. 

"'With  great  esteem,  gentlemen,  your  obedient 
servant,  Theo.  Frelinghuysen. 

'"Messrs.  P.  G.  Stuyvesant,") 

J.  C.  Brigham,  >■  Com.  of  Board.' 

Joseph  Hyde,  ) 

"During  his  residence  in  this  city  as  Chancellor  of 
the  University  of  New  York,  he  frequently  presided 
at  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  where  his 
presence  was  ever  welcomed  and  his  counsels  were 
valued.  He  adorned  his  place  with  peculiar  dignity, 
grace,  and  administrative  ability,  while  his  courtesy, 
candor,  and  decision  made  him  the  model  of  a  presid- 
ing oflEicer  in  a  body  whose  meetings  have  always  been 
distinguished  for  an  order  and  a  spirit  which  befit  the 
great  cause  they  have  advanced  to  its  present  propor- 
tions. He  was  not  a  member  of  the  standing  commit- 
tees, although  his  advice  was  doubtless  sought  by  all 
of  them  when  needed.  During  the  seventeen  years 
of  his  presidency,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  present  at 
every  anniversary  of  the  society,  and  delivered  the 
opening  address  on  each  of  these  great  public  relig- 
ious assemblies.  These  productions  were  brief,  point- 
ed, classical  in  style,  varied  in  matter,  fragrant  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Bible,  full  of  unction  and  wisdom. 
They  were  delivered  with  that  silver-tongued  elo- 
quence of  which  he  was  a  master,  and  on  certain  occa- 
sions produced  grand  effects  upon  his  audiences,  while 
they  were  always  welcomed  with  favor.  Most  of  these 
addresses  were  printed  in  the  reports  of  the  society 
and  other  documents,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  a  col- 


CONKECTION"  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.  221 

lection  of  them  would  add  not  a  little  to  the  treasures 
of  an  eloquence  which  should  not  be  left  to  the  tradi- 
tional memories  of  a  generation  that  is  fast  passing 
away. 

"The  greatest  service  which  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
rendered  to  this  institution  was  by  the  continual  pow- 
er of  his  name,  character,  and  influence.  He  was  the 
representative  man  of  our  American  evangelical  cath- 
olic Christianity,  and  as  such  it  was  fitting  that  his 
most  eminent  position  during  the  last  seventeen  years 
of  his  life  should  have  been — what  he  himself  regard- 
ed as  the  highest  honor  conferred  on  him  by  men — 
the  presidency  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 

"I  append  the  testimony  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
after  his  lamented  death.  The  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions were  prepared  and  presented  by  his  successor  in 
the  office  of  president,  the  Hon.  Luther  Bradish. 

"  With  warm  personal  recollections  and  high  ven- 
eration of  our  noble  friend,  and  praying  that  your 
memorial  of  him  may,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  long 
perpetuate  his  good  name,  I  am  yours,  very  fraternal- 
ly, William  J.  E.  Taylor, 

Cor.  Sec.  Am.  Bible  Society. 

"  '  Whereas^  In  the  dispensations  of  Providence,  the 
Honorable  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  long  the  beloved 
president  of  this  society,  has  been  removed  from  the 
scene  of  his  activity  and  usefulness  here  to  his  final 
rest  and  reward ;  therefore 

"  '■Resolved^  That  this  society,  while  it  bows  in  hum- 
ble submission  to  this  deeply  afflictive  dispensation, 
desires  to  place  on  record  an  expression  of  its  high 
appreciation  of  the  character  and  services  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  of  its  deep  sense  of  the  loss  the  society, 
the  Church,  and  the  community  have  sustained  in  his 
death. 

'"i?e5oZwc?,  That  the  life  of  the  distinguished  de- 
ceased, whether  passed  in  the  councils  of  his  country, 
in  its  higher  educational  or  charitable  institutions,  or 


222  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

in  his  social  and  private  relations,  was  a  bright  and 
beautiful  illustration  of  the  principles  and  teaching  of 
that  Bible  he  loved  so  well,  and  labored  so  zealously 
to  extend  to  the  benighted  and  the  destitute.  Those 
precious  principles  and  that  divine  teaching  were  the 
constant  subject  of  his  earnest  thoughts  and  deepest 
affections.  They  not  only  formed  the  standard  of  his 
faith,  but  were  the  uniform  and  governing  rule  of  his 
daily  life.  By  them  he  lived,  and  by  them  he  died. 
They  moulded  his  character  here,  and  were  the  unfail- 
ing foundation  of  his  hopes  hereafter. 

"  ^Besolved,  That  while  the  society  mourns  the  loss 
of  such  a  colaborer  in  the  prosecution  of  its  high  and 
benevolent  objects,  it  is  deeply  grateful  for  the  exam- 
ple of  such  a  character  as  that  of  its  distinguished  as- 
sociate— a  character  whose  influence  is  not  confined 
to  the  narrow  limits  of  the  life  or  the  circle  in  which 
it  was  manifested,  but  will  be  as  extensive  and  endur- 
ing as  the  memory  of  what  is  highest  and  purest  in 
the  history  of  humanity. 

"  '■Resolved^  That  while  thus  recording  its  own,  the 
society  desires  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  in  the 
grief  of  the  immediate  family  of  the  deceased,  at  the 
loss  of  one  so  endeared  to  them,  and  so  exemplary  in 
all  the  tender  relations  of  domestic  life. 

'"  i?e50?yecZ,  That  the  above  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions be  entered  at  large  upon  the  journal  of  the  soci- 
ety, and  that  a  copy  thereof,  duly  authenticated,  be 
communicated  to  the  family  of  the  deceased.'  " 

AFRICAN  COLONIZATION. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  interest  in  this  important  en- 
terprise was  intense  and  life-long.  At  the  very  be- 
ginning it  came  to  him  commended  by  the  character 
of  the  founder  of  the  American  Colonization  Society. 
This  was  the  Eev.Dr.  Finley,  under  whose  instructions 
he  had  been  prepared  for  college  at  the  beginning  of 


CONNECTIOK  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   223 

the  century.  But  his  attachment  to  the  cause  did  not 
depend  upon  personal  influences  so  much  as  upon  its 
own  intrinsic  merits.  Having  been  himself  a  slave- 
holder by  inheritance,  and  personally  familiar  with 
the  condition  and  character  of  the  negro,  race,  his  be- 
nevolent sympathies  were  aroused  by  the  prospect  of 
restoring  them,  with  their  own  consent,  to  the  land  of 
their  forefathers,  there  to  erect  a  free  Christian  com- 
monwealth. His  sober  reflection  confirmed  the  im- 
pulses of  his  heart,  and  he  became  a  stanch  advocate 
and  supporter  of  the  colonization  scheme.  He  can- 
didly considered  the  various  objections  which  from 
time  to  time  were  raised  against  the  enterprise,  but  his 
original  convictions  of  its  philanthropy  and  expediency 
never  wavered.  He  contributed  largely  to  its  funds, 
gave  his  counsels  to  its  ofl&cers,  advocated  its  claims 
upon  the  platform,  and  devoted  the  only  article  he 
ever  contributed  to  a  quarterly  review  to  a  defense  of 
its  character  and  policy. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Kev.  Dr.  E.  K.  Gurley 
presents  some  interesting  reminiscences  of  his  early 
and  prolonged  attachment  to  this  great  scheme  of  en- 
lightened philanthropy : 

"Washington,  Office  of  the  Colonization  Society,) 
July  1,  1862.  I 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  am  most  happy  to  learn  that 
you  are  preparing  a  memoir  of  my  lamented  and  ever- 
to-be-honored  friend,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  whom  it  was 
a  privilege  for  any  one  to  know,  and  hardly  less  so  to 
commemorate.  He  was  so  humble  as  not  to  seek  for 
human  praise,  yet  so  disinterested  that  I  believe  he 
would  take  pleasure  in  knowing  that  others  were 
moved  to  admiration  and  imitation  of  his  illustrious 
example,  although  felt  by  him  to  be  dim  in  the  light 


224  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

and  power  of  a  Oreater.  It  was  his  happiness- to  study, 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  the  character  of  that  holy 
and  just  One,  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found 
in  his  mouth.  Few  men  have  ever  approached  nearer 
to  the  perfection  of  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  the 
Christian  faith. 

"It  is  about  forty  years  ago  since  I  first  met  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  in  his  own  house  at  Newark,  in  com- 
jDany  with  several  gentlemen  who  were  invited  to  con- 
fer together  in  regard  to  the  application  of  a  fund,  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  for  the  education  of  female 
colored  children,  and  which  a  society  in  New  Jersey 
hoped  might  be  placed  by  the  trustee,  Mr.  Lea  (to 
whom  it  had  been  conveyed  by  Mr.  Jefferson),  at  their 
disposal.  The  meeting  was  rendered  exceedingly 
agreeable. and  instructive  by  the  conversation  of  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  and  the  earnestness  and  kindness  with 
which  he  entered  into  the  benevolent  object  for  which 
it  had  been  convened.  The  sudden  decease  of  Mr. 
Lea,  and  the  attempt  of  the  heirs  of  Kosciusko  to-  de- 
feat the  object  of  the  testator,  led  the  society  to  aban- 
don their  benevolent  scheme.  But  from  that  time 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  evinced  an  ardent  and  constant  in- 
terest in  the  design  of  the  ximerican  Colonization  So- 
ciety, and  became  one  of  its  most  generous  and  able 
friends.  He  subscribed  liberally  to  the  publication  of 
the  Life  of  Ashmun,  subscribed  one  thousand  dollars 
[to  the  purposes  of  the  society],  on  the  plan  of  Gerrit 
Smith  (paying  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  ten 
years),  and  gave  generously  to  the  cause  to  the  clos- 
ing years  of  his  life. 

"  For  many  years  he  sustained  the  office  of  vice- 
l^resident  of  the  society ;  he  ever  stood  ready  to  afford 
his  best  counsels  to  the  directors,  and  he  pleaded  with 
the  persuasiveness  and  power  of  his  eloquence  for  Af- 
rica and  her  dispersed  and  afflicted  children.  As  a 
statesman,  his  unblemished  morality  and  eminent 
.  Christian  character  gave  great  weight  to  his  opinions ; 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   225 

and  his  •warm  devotedness  to  all  patriotic  objects,  as 
well  as  those  embracing  all  mankind,  attracted  the  at- 
tention and  confidence  of  all  philanthropic  societies, 
and  disposed  them  to  ask  the  aid  of  his  eloquence  on 
many  great  occasions,  and  probably  no  man  in  the 
country  exerted  a  more  cheerful  or  more  widespread 
influence  for  the  public  good  and  for  the  kingdom  of 
Jesus  Christ.  In  the  hearts  of  the  great  and  good,  in 
the  admiration  of  Christians  of  every  name,  in  this  and 
many  lands,  will  his  -memory  be  cherished  and  hon- 
ored forever.  Africa  will  remember  him  forever  as 
one  of  her  truest  and  best  friends. 

"I  have  pleasure  in  supplying,  in  the  publications 
herewith  sent,  many  reminiscences  of  this  admirable 
man,  with  copies  of  several  of  his  speeches,  persuasive 
both  in  thought  and  language. 

"Most  respectfully  yours,         E.  E.  Gueley." 

AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  interest  in  the  work  of  this  be- 
neficent institution  dates  almost  from  its  origin,  and 
continued  without  interruption  or  abatement  to  the 
end  of  his  life.  He  made  one  of  the  addresses  at  the 
third  annual  meeting,  held  in  1828,  and  at  frequent  in- 
tervals afterward.  The  senior  secretary,  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Hallock,  in  a  letter  to  the  author,  dated  July  24, 1862, 
bears  distinct  and  cordial  testimony  to  his  services. 
After  mentioning  some  documents  and  manuscripts 
sent  with  the  letter,  the  writer  jDroceeds : 

"I  can  not  express  how  precious,  cheering,  eleva- 
ting, and  ennobling  was  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  influence 
during  the  whole  of  his  six  years'  presidency,  from 
1842  to  1848.  In  his  addresses,  and  in  his  whole  life 
and  intercourse,  there  was  a  deep,  mellowed  spiritual- 
ity, drawn  from  the  depths  of  God's  Word  and  the 
K2 


226  LIFE   OF  FKELINGHUYSEISr. 

teachings  of  his  Spirit,  blended  with  a  high  and  chas- 
tened intellect,  and  urbanity,  and  heart-reaching  kind- 
ness and  Christian  love,  that  I  have  never  been  con- 
scious of  meeting  in  any  other  man,  nor  do  I  expect 
ever  to  witness  and  enjoy  it  so  fully  again.  His  mem- 
ory is  embalmed  in  all  our  hearts,  and  will  remain 
fragrant  till  death,  and  then  go  on,  in  a  brighter  sphere, 
I  trust  forever.  It  is  a  high  privilege  to  prepare  the 
memoir  of  such  a  one,  and  I  gladly  furnish  you  the 
rich  material  he  has  bequeathed  to  this  society. 
"  With  respect  and  esteem,  your  affectionate  brother, 
"  Wm.  a.  Hallock,  Secretary." 

From  the  "rich  material"  kindly  furnished  by  the 
secretary,  the  following  selections  are  made. 

In  May,  1842,  when  he  was  first  appointed  president 
of  the  American  Tract  Society,  he  used  these  terms  in 
replying  to  the  notice : 

"To  be  associated  with  an  institution  of  such  dis- 
tinguished usefulness,  and  with  a  board  of  officers  of 
such  public  esteem  and  personal  worth,  is  no  common 
honor.  And  in  accepting  the  place  to  which  your  in- 
dulgent kindness  has  chosen  me,  I  cherish  the  hope 
that,  through  the  grace  of  our  blessed  Eedeemer,  I  may 
be  in  some  humble  measure  made  useful." 

Four  years  afterward  he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  re- 
tire from  the  station,  and  so  expressed  himself  to  the 
secretary,  adding,  at  the  same  time,  these  words : 

"  In  retiring  at  this  time  from  the  office,  I  hardly 
need  to  assure  you  that  my  decision  arises  from  no 
diminution  of  confidence  in  the  Tract  Society  or  its 
management  and  aims.  I  regard  it  as  a  blessed  agen- 
cy for  our  country,  full  of  promise,  and  rich  in  the  tes- 
timonials of  God's  favor.  It  is  my  purpose,  as  it  will 
be  my  privilege  and  duty,  to  co-operate  with  you  in 


CONNECTION  WITH   BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   227 

extending  its  influences  widely  as  the  ripening  fields 
indicate  the  need  of  the  reaper  and  the  sickle." 

He  was,  however,  prevailed  upon  to  retract  his  re- 
fusal to  serve,  and  continued  two  years  longer  in  the 
office.  But  in  1848,  despite  farther  solicitation,  he  re- 
newed and  persisted  in  his  determination  to  withdraw, 
as  appears  by  the  following  letter: 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  have  farther  considered  the  matter 
of  the  Tract  presidency  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
your  visit,  and  have  concluded  that  the  way  is  quite 
open  for  the  appointment  of  another  president.  If 
you  had  encountered  any  serious  difficulties  in  select- 
ing a  successor,  I  should  have  regarded  the  matter  as 
of  more  difficult  duty  ;  but  the  choice  is  of  one  so  de- 
servedly high  in  the  confidence  of  his  country  and  in 
the  affectionate  esteem  of  the  Church,  that  I  am  grate- 
ful that,  while  my  own  feelings  are  relieved  of  a  pain- 
ful position  (in  the  one  respect  only)^  the  cause  and  the 
society  will  have  in  such  near  connection  a  long-tried, 
judicious,  and  excellent  friend.  With  my  fervent 
wishes  and  prayers  that  God  may  continue  to  smile 
upon  your  labors  of  love  in  spreading  far  the  princi- 
ples of  His  blessed  Gospel,  and  give  you  at  last  a  place 
among  those  who  have  turned  many  to  righteousness, 
I  remain  with  sincere  regard,  your  friend  and  brother, 
"  Theo.  Frelinghuysen." 

Of  the  many  addresses  made  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
in  behalf  of  the  Tract  cause,  one  is  reproduced  here, 
mainly  because  it  expresses  views  and  maxims  upon 
which  he  himself  habitually  acted  from  the  period  of 
his  first  consecration  to  the  Savior.  It  was  delivered 
in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle  at  the  anniversary  of  the 
City  Tract  Society  in  December,  1836.  The  scope  of 
the  resolution  in  support  of  which  the  speaker  arose 


228  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

was  tlie  importance  of  "  prayerful  personal  efforts  for 
the  salvation  of  men."  According  to  the  report  made 
at  the  time,  Mr.  Frelmghujsen  said, 

"The  eye  of  God  is  upon  those  engaged  in  this 
cause  with  peculiar  complacency,  for  their  trials  are 
peculiar.  To  give  liberally  is  a  privilege  to  the  lib- 
eral soul.  There  is  so  much  that  is  delightful  in  the 
promise  of  the  great  plans  of  public  beneficence,  that 
the  trial  of  the  service  has  passed  away.  Christian 
men'would  deem  it  a  lost  blessing  if  the  occasion  did 
not  meet  them  for  pouring  into  the  treasure-house  of 
God.  So  a  public  convention,  where  the  pulse  of 
Christian  sympathy  is  warmed  by  fellowship,  where 
the  law  of  kindness  reigns,  where  face  answers  to  face, 
and  prayer  mingles  with  prayer,  and  heart  with  heart 
—  why,  instead  of  a  cross,  it  is  a  jubilee.  It  is  one 
of  the  heavenly  places  which  gladdened  the  apostles' 
heart,  and  now  rejoices  every  heart  that  loves  Zion. 
But  to  go  alone  into  the  by-paths  of  sin ;  to  approach 
the  thoughtless  in  the  world  of  fashion,  and,  with  a 
face  set  as  a  flint  in  the  stern  discharge  of  duty,  faith- 
fully admonish,  exhort,  and  plead  the  cause  of  God 
and  the  soul — to  meet  the  scorn  and  taunts  of  ridicule, 
and  take  them  meekly — to  bow  the  head,  and  rejoice 
to  suffer  shame  for  Jesus — this  is  a  service  which  no 
fortitude  can  endure  but  that  which  a  deep  conviction 
of  the  value  and  the  danger  of  the  soul  inspires. 

"  But  the  rewards  become  the  enterprise.  A  just 
sense  of  the  momentous  interests  at  hazard,  an  estab- 
lished faith  in  the  retribution  which  awaits  us,  and  a 
growing  love  for  the  souls  of  men,  will  sustain  the 
mind  amid  all  the  tribulations  which  lie  in  the  path. 
The  tract  missionary  looks  to  the  end,  and  there  he 
casts  his  hopes.  He  knows  that  the  hour  will  come 
when  every  anxious  thought  and  every  faithful  warn- 
ing will  be  indicated,  not  only  by  the  joys  of  the  re- 
deemed, but  also  by  the  despair  of  the  lost.     He  is  as- 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   229 

sured  that  -when  the  trump  of  God  shall  awaken  the 
dead  of  all  generations,  whatever  wailings  of  anguish 
may  break  from  the  opening  tombs,  there  will  then  be 
no  reproaches  heard  that  he  stood  the  fiery  trial  of 
cruel  revilings,  and  met  the  world's  laugh  with  the 
meek  firmness  of  a  steadfast  heart. 

"  When  we  consider  the  constitution  of  the  soul,  as 
God  has  endowed  it,  with  all  its  sympathies,  we  can 
not  be  surprised  at  the  result  of  such  means.  True, 
He  is  sovereign  in  all  this,  but  His  sovereign  pleasure 
is  to  act  and  save  according  to  the  laws  of  the  mind 
and  the  dictates  of  the  soundest  philosophy.  There  is 
a  chord  in  the  bosom  even  of  the  vile  that  responds  to 
kindness.  Self-respect  is  soothed  by  the  regard  which 
personal  faithfulness  betokens.  And  although  the 
thoughtless  and  profane  may  scorn  the  message  and 
hate  the  counsel,  they  must  and  do  defer  to  the  con- 
cern you  manifest.  Conscience  pleads  for  you,  and, 
when  face  meets  face — when  the  missionary  of  mercy 
enters  the  abode  of  the  wretched,  seeking  the  everlast- 
ing welfare  of  its  inmates,  they  can  not  always  stifle 
the  conviction  that  such  earnestness,  so  clear  of  all  self- 
ish motive,  and  so  pure  in  its  design,  must  be  prompt- 
ed by  causes  which  the  infidelity  of  the  heart  can  nei- 
ther change  nor  control. 

"A  case,  not  long  since,  in  your  own  state,  happily 
exhibits  the  power  of  this  agency.  An  aged  culprit 
in  one  of  your  prisons,  who  was  suffering  for  his 
crimes,  was  one  Sabbath  morning  approached  by  the 
missionary.  He  sat  down  by  his  side,  and,  with  af- 
fectionate solicitude,  inquired  of  him  the  state  of  his 
feelings.  The  unhappy  man  instantly  burst  into  tears. 
So  peculiar  was  his  agitation  that  the  man  of  God  was 
struck  with  it,  and  sought  the  cause  of  such  strong 
emotion.  '  Sir,'  said  he,  '  it  is  the  first  time  in  forty 
years  that  I  have  heard  the  language  of  kindness,  and 
it  overwhelms  me.'  He  had  passed  through  scenes  of 
awful  transgression,  and  had  hardened  his  heart ;  he 


280  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

had  met  unmoved  the  rigors  of  imprisonment ;  he  had 
gone  through  the  trial  and  endured  the  penalty ;  he 
had  heard  iron  bolts  driven,  and  his  eye  never  falter- 
ed nor  a  nerve  gave  way ;  but  when  the  sound  of 
Christian  sympathy  fell  on  his  ear,  it  penetrated  his 
heart,  and  brought  down  that  proud  spirit  that  never 
had  quailed  before. 

"  With  such  exalted  motives  to  urge  us,  why  shall 
not  this  effective  instrumentality  be  greatly  enlarged 
in  its  numbers  and  influence?  With  so  much  of  dis- 
traction in  business,  so  much  of  dangerous  allurement 
in  ambition,  and  pleasure,  and  fashion,  to  quench  any 
serious  feeling  and  desire,  who  does  not  rejoice  that 
we  may  sometimes  be  met  in  the  path  of  worldliness 
by  him  who  dares  to  tell  us  the  truth,  and,  at  the  price 
of  our  scorn  or  displeasure,  to  be  faithful  to  our  eter- 
nal interests  ?  With  all  its  trials,  I  doubt  not,  it  brings 
a  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding.  It  must  be 
so ;  for  it  is  that  direction  and  application  of  talents 
which  He  who  bestowed  them  designed. 

"  Think  you,  sir,  that  Harlan  Page  ever  knew  a  re- 
gret because  of  his  toils  in  this  blessed  service  ?  It 
was  the  glory  of  his  life,  it  was  the  joy  of  his  dying 
liour;  it  will  be  his  bright  and  imperishable  crown 
forever.  And  when  that  blessed  spirit  shall  meet  the 
goodly  number  whom  he  turned  to  righteousness,  as 
they  strike  their  harps  together  in  the  new  song  of 
praise  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  then,  and  for  end- 
less ages  thereafter,  he  will  begin  to  learn  of  the  heights 
and  depths  of  the  recompense  that  grace  awards  to 
those  who  have  done  good  to  souls.  He  has  furnish- 
ed a  new  chapter  on  Christian  faithfulness.  Every 
follower  of  Christ  should  study  his  life,  should  tread 
closely  in  his  footsteps,  should  covet  such  blessed  gifts 
of  the  Spirit.  Sir,  we  are  bound  to  engage  in  this 
work.  Every  dictate  of  duty  and  every  sentiment  of 
regard  for  our  friends  and  fellow-men  not  only  invite, 
but  demand  such  consecration  of  personal  influence. 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   231 

"  I  am  persuaded,  sir,  that  we  are  prone  to  mystify 
religion  and  its  high  duties,  and  thus  we  are  often  ap- 
palled by  terrors  which  our  own  fancies  have  created. 
We  exaggerate  difficulties  often  where  the  way  is 
smooth,  predict  harsh  repulses  where  we  should  meet 
with  respectful  attention.  Sir,  our  irreligious  friends 
expect  us  to  be  faithful  to  them.  Their  surprise  is  far 
more  awakened,  and  oftener  too,  by  our  guilty  silence, 
than  by  our  affectionate  and  earnest  solicitude.  Let 
us  bear  our  living  testimony,  in  the  face  of  our  fellow- 
men,  to  the  reality  and  the  tremendous  issues  of  eter- 
nal things.  Granted  that  there  are  trials.  It  is  just 
such  discipline  as  is  needed  to  test  and  develop  the 
strength  of  Christian  character — just  such  as  is  indis- 
pensable for  the  cultivation  of  a  vigorous  piety.  How 
else  shall  we  cherish  the  stern  virtues  of  self-denial, 
holy  fortitude,  and  triumphant  faith  ?  These  conflicts 
lead  us  to  the  only  refuge  where  we  may  gain  grace 
to  suffer  and  faith  to  |)revail." 

THE   AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION. 

The  active  personal  interest  which  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  took,  from  his  first  connection  with  the  people  of 
God,  in  the  Sunday-school  of  the  church  which  he  at- 
tended, would  naturally  lead  him  to  regard  with  favor 
the  society  which  aimed  to  secure  the  establishment 
of  such  schools  throughout  the  country.  The  author 
is  indebted  to  Frederick  A.  Packard,  Esq.,  the  accom- 
plished secretary  of  that  society,  for  the  following 
statement  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  zeal  and  efforts  in 
this  behalf  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  scale  of  the  duty 
to  be  performed  made  no  difference  in  the  conscien- 
tious fidelity  with  which  he  discharged  it.  He  was 
regular  and  faithful  as  the  teacher  of  a  single  class, 
and  at  the  same  time  ready  efficiently  to  help  the  ef- 


232  LIFE   OF   FEELINGHUYSEN. 

forts  made  to  diffuse  the  institution  over  the  breadtla 
of  the  continent. 

"If  any  conviction  bad  a  deeper  hold  upon  the  mind 
of  Theodore  Frehnghuysen  than  another,  it  was  the  ab- 
solute indispensableness  of  moral  and  religious  as  well  as 
intellectual  culture  to  the  lireservation  and  perpetuity  of  a 
popidar  government.  Throughout  his  pubHc  career 
this  great  subject  seems  to  have  been  always  present 
to  his  mind,  and,  as  the  system  of  instruction  in  Sab- 
bath-schools became  more  and  more  manifestly 
adapted  to  the  need  of  the  country,  and  especially  the 
new  and  sparsely-settled  parts  of  it,  he  entered  with 
all  the  warmth  of  his  benevolent  heart  into  its  sup- 
port. What  were  his  early  local  relations  to  the  Sab- 
bath-school is  known  to  others ;  the  present  paper  is 
concerned  only  with  his  more  general  and  public  sym- 
pathy with  it,  and,  though  our  means  are  very  imper- 
fect, we  can  trace  with  no  little  interest  the  progress 
of  his  opinions  and  convictions  on  the  subject.  In 
June,  1826  (in  acknowledging  the  notice  of  his  elec- 
tion as  a  vice-president  of  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union),  he  says : 

"  '  I  have  long  regarded  the  Sabbath  -  school  as 
among  the  most  efficient  means,  under  the  Divine 
blessing,  of  advancing  the  Eedeemer's  kingdom,  and 
as  intimately  connected  with  true  national  prosperity. 
Their  blessed  influence  is  beginning  to  be  seen  in  this 
town  (Newark,  New  Jersey),  where  upward  of  1000 
children  are  under  their  weekly  instruction.'* 

"  In  acknowledging  a  similar  notice  in  June,  1828, 
he  says : 

"  '  To  be  in  any  way  connected  with  the  objects  of 
this  blessed  charity  I  feel  to  be  an  honor  and  a  privi- 
lege. I  have  long  looked  to  this  moral  engine  as,  un- 
der the  Divine  blessing,  identified  with  the  best  hopes 
of  our  country.' 

*  Tlio  mimbev  now  in  attendance  is,  of  course,  vastly  increased. 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   233 

"  The  rapidity  with  which  the  "Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi was  iilling  up,  and  the  inadequacy  of  existing 
means  to  supply  the  moral  and  religious  as  well  as 
the  intellectual  wants  of  the  people,  had  moved  the 
heart  of  Christian  benevolence,  and,  as  the  most  hope- 
ful field  of  effort  was  found  among  the  children  and 
youth,  the  friends  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union 
conceived  the  purpose  of  expanding  its  missionary 
work  to  embrace  that  vast  region ;  and,  without  com- 
prehending very  definitely  the  extent  and  difficulties 
of  the  undertaking,  they  resolved  (May  25, 1830),  '  in 
reliance  upon  Divine  aid,  to  establish  a  Sunday-school 
within  two  years  in  every  destitute  place,  where  it  is 
practicable,  throughout  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.' 
In  the  following  February,  the  late  Eev.  John  Breck- 
inridge volunteered  his  valuable  services  to  bring 
the  subject,  which  he  regarded  as  of  great  national  im- 
portance, to  the  notice  and  appreciation  of  our  leading 
public  men,  and  to  this  end  a  meeting  was  appointed 
at  Washington,  February  16, 1831,  at  which  the  late 
Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  presided ;   and 
such  men  as  Elisha  Whittlesey,  of  Ohio ;  N.  D. 
Coleman  and  Charles  A.Wickliffe,  of  Kentucky ; 
Charles  E.  Haynes,  of  Georgia,  and  Daniel  Web- 
ster, of  Massachusetts,  advocated,  with  eloquent  earn- 
estness, the  great  purpose  which  had  been  undertaken. 
At  this  meeting  Mr.  Freliughuysen,  then  a  member  of 
the  Senate  from  New  Jersey,  expressed  his  convic- 
tions with  great  force  and  freedom,  and  probably  un- 
derstood more  perfectly  than  any  of  his  coadjutorsthe 
comprehensive  bearings  of  the  subject.     Mr.Freling- 
huysen  offered  the  following  resolution : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  objects  contemplated  by  the 
late  resolution  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union, 
adopted  in  May  last,  commend  themselves  to  the  pa- 
tronage and  best  wishes  of  every  American  statesman, 
patriot,  and  Christian.'  And  in  support  of  it  address- 
ed the  meeting  as  follows : 


234  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

" '  Mr.  Chairman,  I  always  rejoice  in  the  occasion 
that  enables  me  to  raise  my  voice  in  behalf  of  the  Sun- 
day-school. I  regard  it,  sir,  as  the  most  benignant  en- 
terprise of  modern  benevolence.  It  is  the  fountain- 
spring  of  good.  In  all  its  aspects  it  is  full  of  promise. 
That  season  of  existence  which  has  been  most  neglect- 
ed, in  which  the  seeds  of  a  future  harvest  are  sown, 
and  in  which  life  and  destiny  are  controlled  —  this 
eventful  era  is  introduced  to  the  direct  influence  of 
the  purest  moral  and  religious  instruction.  Heathen 
Eome,  in  the  proudest  day  of  her  glory,  never  remit- 
ted her  concern  for  the  education  of  her  youth.  She 
felt  that  in  her  schools  was  to  be  achieved  all  that 
hope  could  expect  or  desire ;  and  with  a  morality  de- 
fective in  its  principles,  by  the  aid  of  this  great  lever 
she  rose  to  the  summit  of  earthly  fame.  We  enjoy 
the  means  of  far  more  elevating  instruction.  "We  can 
draw  motives  from  the  pure  treasury  of  the  Word  of 
God  in  all  its  exalted  hopes,  momentous  sanctions,  and 
eternal  retributions ;  and  we  are  encouraged  to  the 
faithful  cultivation  of  these  means  by  the  promise  of 
Him  who  gave  them :  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way 
he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart 
from  it."  This  is  as  sure  in  philosophy  as  it  is  in 
Scripture.  The  proof  of  it  is  broadly  spread  out  over 
the  whole  history  of  man.  Although  his  native  tend- ' 
encies  are  depraved  and  degenerate,  this  training^  sir 
— a  most  emphatic  word  to  denote  the  nature  of  the 
process — this  training  is  constantly  counteracting  these 
tendencies.  It  persuades  from  degrading  pursuits  to 
exalted  aspirations.  When  the  heart  would  seek  some 
groveling,  earth-born  good,  that  perishes  as  we  grasp 
it,  this  points  the  desires  to  a  portion  in  the  heavens, 
pure,  and  satisfjdng,  and  perpetual,  and,  with- the  Di- 
vine blessing,  the  self-love  of  the  heart  is  enlisted  on 
the  side  of  virtue ;  the  mind  perceives  its  profit  as  well 
as  pleasure  in  the  ways  of  wisdom,  and  habit  adds  the 
confirmation  of  a  second  nature  to  the  dictates  of  truth 
and  duty. 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   235 

"  '  Wherefore,  then,  does  the  man  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciples of  virtue  ?  Sir,  he  has  been  trained  up  in  the 
way  he  should  go.  The  lessons  read  to  him  in  child- 
hood were  not  only  incentives  to  virtue,  but  his  surest 
defenses  against  vice.  They  not  only  allured  him  to 
the  right  way,  but  effectually  admonished  him  to  shun 
the  wrong  way.  I  am  fully  aware  that  all  this  process 
would  be  fruitless  without  the  blessing  of  God — that 
He  is  sovereign  when  He  gives  and  when  He  with- 
holds. But  I  also  know,  sir,  that  it  is  His  sovereign 
good  pleasure  to  bless  the  faithful  labors  of  His  peo- 
ple; that  His  faithfulness  is  pledged  in  the  promise, 
"Them  that  honor  me  I  will  honor,  and  those  that 
seek  me  early  shall  find  me." 

"  '  Mr.  Chairman,  if  farther  proof  were  needed,  we 
might  find  it  in  the  history  of  all  the  profane.  Take 
any  convict  of  your  penitentiary,  and  his  brief  and  sad 
biography  would  form  an  appropriate  history  for  the 
great  majority  of  his  fellows  in  crime.  Ask  him,  sir, 
what  it  was  that  brought  him  to  his  wretched  dwell- 
ing-place, and  he  must  reply,  "  I  was  trained  up  for  it. 
I  early  broke  away  from  the  restraints  of  conscience. 
I  had  no  kind  friend  to  instruct  me,  or  I  despised  his 
counsels. 

"  '  "  No  mother's  tender  care 
Shielded  my  infant  innocence  with  prayer. 

From  a  youth  I  have  defied  my  Maker.  I  thought  it 
manly  to  blaspheme  His  sacred  name.  I  made  a  mock 
at  sin,  entered  the  broad  way  of  transgression,  and 
disregarded  the  beacon  lights  that  warned  me  of  my 
danger.  Such  has  been  my  training,  and  here  I  reap 
its  bitter  fruits.  I  ought  not  to  be  disappointed ;  for 
from  such  a  childhood  and  youth,  who  could  expect 
other  than  such  a  doom?"  Let  us  then,  sir,  assidu- 
ously cultivate  these  moral  influences.  Who  that  has 
the  heart  of  a  man  can  refuse  them  his  best  wishes  ? 
Sir,  is  it  not  of  the  last  importance  to  have  the  sources 
of  national  prosperity  pure,  and  the  aims  and  pursuits 


236  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

of  our  people  elevated?  and  where  but  in  tlie  Bible 
sliall  we  find  the  record  of  sound  principles  ?  Permit 
me  to  say  that  the  occasion  was  never  more  urgent  for 
the  friends  of  truth  to  send  forth  the  healthful  influ- 
ence of  the  Gospel.  Sir,  in  this  day  of  benevolent  ac- 
tion, the  enemies  of  God  and  man  are  not  idle.  The 
disciples  of  infidelity  are  striving  with  sleepless  effort 
to  break  down  the  defenses  of  religion  and  virtue. 
She  has  her  ministers  and  her  altars.  Her  votaries 
are  assaihng  the  citadel  of  truth  with  every  weapon 
that  promises  the  least  infliction.  They  would  blot 
out  the  Bible,  and  roll  the  wave  of  desolation  over  all 
that  is  dear  to  us  as  men  and  Christians.  Then  I 
would  say  to  parents,  as  you  love  your  children,  and 
to  statesmen,  as  you  love  your  country,  cherish  this 
blessed  enterprise.  Who  would  not  rejoice  to  behold 
the  pure  spirit  of  religion  pervading  the  whole  mass 
of  our  population — these  sacred  rules  of  life  inculca- 
ted and  circulated  in  every  valley,  reaching  to  every 
mountain-top,  and  tracking  the  course  of  every  mighty 
river  of  the  West?  Who  does  not  desire  that  the 
hopes  of  immortality  might  animate  every  heart  and 
fill  every  bosom  through  the  whole  breadth  of  the 

land  ? 

"  '  Nothing  besides  can  give  stability  to  our  institu- 
tions. Let  us  ponder  with  deep  reflection,  and  cease 
not  to  repeat  and  reiterate  the  interesting  truth  that 
'  our  boasted  liberties  will  not  long  survive  the  wreck 
of  our  public  morals.  The  destruction  of  the  one  will 
witness  the  passing  away  of  the  other.  They  will  go 
down  in  melancholy  companionship  to  the  same  grave. 
So  the  Father  of  his  Country  deemed,  and  with  a  pa- 
ternal solicitude  counseled  us,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  heard 
with  heartfelt  approbation  the  sentiment  already  elo- 
quently advanced  and  sustained,  that  the  genius  of 
our  Constitution  is  propitious  to  the  interests  of  the 
Sunday-school.  It  is  true,  sir.  The  pure  spirit  of  re- 
publican liberty  invokes  its  aid  and  cherishes  its  fel- 


CONNECTION  WITH   BENEVOLENT   INSTITUTIONS.    237 

lowship,  and  he  is  unfaithful  to  his  country  who  would 
seek  to  impair  its  influence  or  check  its  progress.' 

"  It  was  not  the  value  of  the  Sunday-school  as  an 
instrument  of  enlightening  and  elevating  the  popular 
mind  that  formed  its  chief  attraction  in  the  view  of 
Mr.Frelinghuysen,  though  he  by  no  means  underrated 
its  efficiency  for  this  purpose.  But  the  influence  of 
such  a  host  of  voluntary  religious  teachers,  inculcating 
from  week  to  week  the  simple  central  truths  of  Divine 
revelation,  combined  with  the  personal  incidental  con- 
nection which  the  teacher's  office  gave  him  with  the 
pupil's  family,  he  regarded  as  of  inestimable  import- 
ance. '  I  assure  you,'  he  says,  in  a  private  letter,  dated 
June  17, 1831,  '  that  it  is  grateful  to  me  to  be  in  any 
way  connected  with  an  institution  which  encourages 
so  much  hope  for  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-men  for 
the  world  and  for  eternity.' 

"It  is  obvious,  from  many  of  the  public  declarations 
of  his  views,  that  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  had  very  grave 
apprehensions  concerning  the  endurance  of  our  polit- 
ical frame-work  through  the  prevalence  of  ignorance 
and  licentiousness.  His  spirits  were  oftentimes  de- 
pressed and  his  hopes  dimmed  because  of  the  appar- 
ent inadequacy  of  our  moral  forces  to  withstand  the 
powers  of  darkness.  His  faith  was  steadfast  in  the 
Divine  promise,  that  '  when  the  enemy  should  come 
in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  would  lift  up  a 
standard  against  him  ;'  but  in  the  terrible  conflict, 
what  would  become  of  our  institutions  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty  ? 

"  In  such  a  mood,  under  date  of  August  1, 1832,  he 
•  says :  '  It  is  matter  of  frequent  thankfulness  to  God, 
when  there  is  so  much  of  irreligion  and  licentiousness 
in  our  country  to  deplore,  that  we  can  turn  to  the  Sab- 
bath-schools and  Bible-classes,  and  there  cherish  the 
reviving  hope  that  with  these  blessed  influences  we 
shall  yet  see  better  and  brighter  days.'  In  Novem- 
ber, 1833,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  advocated  the  cause  of 


238  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Sundaj-scliools  in  a  public  meeting  in  New  York,  but 
no  report  of  bis  speech  was  preserved. 

"At  tbe  public  meeting  held  at  Philadelphia  in 
connection  with  the  eleventh  anniversary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Sunday  -  school  Union,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  made 
an  address  of  a  very  remarkable  character.  The  res- 
olution in  support  of  which  the  address  was  made  was 
evidently  framed  with  a  view  to  urge  the  claims  of 
Sunday-schools  upon  public  attention,  mainly,  though 
by  no  means  exclusively,  because  of  their  bearing  on 
the  'political  and  social  ivelfare  of  the  country  ;  and  the 
tenor  of  his  remarks  coincides  with  this  idea.  It  was 
in  these  words : 

"  '  That  Sunday-schools,  by  laying  the  foundation 
of  public  and  private  integrity  and  intelligence,  pro- 
vide the  best  preservative  of  our  rights  and  liberties, 
and  the  best  guarantee  for  the  peace  and  good  order 
of  society ;  and  that  in  this  view  they  deserve  the  spe- 
cial patronage  of  the  statesman  and  patriot.' 

"  In  enforcing  the  resolution  he  said : 

"  '  There  are  considerations  connected  with  our 
country  that  present  causes  for  melancholy  apprehen- 
sion. The  spirit  of  freedom,  with  all  its  rich  benefits, 
is  not  without  its  dangers.  Every  mind  in  any  meas- 
ure acquainted  with  its  own  operations  knows  that 
there  are  propensities  within  us  which  require  control 
— that  must  be  brought  into  subjection  to  wholesome 
regulations  and  discipline. 

"  '  Now  one  startling  danger  lies  in  the  very  heart 
of  our  blessings.  We  are  too  proud  of  our  liberties 
and  of  our  country.  Self-confidence  is  engendered, 
and  a  spirit  of  individual  independence  almost  too 
strong  for  laiu.  "We  are  our  own  rule7's,we  boast.  Po- 
litically, it  is  true.  The  fear  is  reasonable  that  we 
shall  practically  refuse  or  deny  the  authority  even  of 
our  own  rulers.  There  is  a  constant  propensity  to 
break  away  from  all  restraints.  "Resistance,"  "lib- 
erty," "  independence,"  "  the  rights  of  man,"  are  so 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   239 

familiar — and  so  grateful  too,  I  grant — that  we  are 
prone  to  forget  not  only  Him  whose  unspeakable  good- 
ness has  made  us  to  differ,  but  to  forget,  also,  that  these 
animating  terms,  and  the  glow  of  patriotism,  and  the 
love  of  country,  if  not  sustained  and  cherished  by 
sound  principles,  will  become  the  mere  watchwords  for 
licentiousness  and  all  misrule. 

'' '  I  have  not  made  this  allusion,  sir,  for  any  pur- 
pose of  severe  censorship  at  this  interesting  season, 
when  I  would  far  rather  mingle  in  the  delightful  sym- 
pathies that  the  occasion  awakens ;  but,  sir,  I  have 
given  the  hint,  that  we  may  perceive  the  benignant 
influence  of  the  Sabbath-school  on  this  2^oIiiical  tend- 
ency. Yes,  sir,  every  patriot  should  bless  God  for  this 
agency  that  so  admirably  befits  the  service — that  so 
wisely  and  seasonably  meets  the  wants  of  our  country. 

"  '  Oj)inion  is,  under  heaven,  become  the  arbiter  of 
nations.  Power  is  despoiled  of  all  its  mystified  inci- 
dents and  prerogatives.  The  spell  of  long-established 
systems,  of  hereditary  orders,  is  broken ;  and  as  the 
whole  world  is  moving  on  from  the  quiet  inaction  of 
the  one  to  the  active,  restless,  and,  I  may  add,  feverish 
excitability  of  the  other  condition,  what  a  public  mer- 
cy was  it  that  the  Sunday-school  should  come  up  just 
as  the  elements  began  to  quicken,  and  shed  its  health- 
ful, purifying,  forming  influences  over  whole  masses 
of  mind,  that  were  destined  either  to  help  forward,  or 
with  dreadful  energy  desolate  the  hopes  of  piety  and 
human  happiness. 

"  'I  certainly  shall  not  depreciate  other  blessed  in- 
strumentalities that  adorn  our  age.  I  know  that  the 
pulpit  stands  at  the  head  of  all  means  to  save  our 
world.  God  has  exalted  it  to  that  noble  elevation,  and 
there  let  it  stand,  the  advocate  of  truth,  and  the  faith- 
ful witness  of  God ;  the  angel  of  His  mercy,  and  the 
consolation  of  His  people.  But  in  its  connections  with 
the  stability  of  our  political  institutions — in  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  happiest  and  freest  form  of  government 


2-iO  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

in  the  world,  the  Sabbath-school  falls  not  far  behind 
the  ministry.  Indeed,  it  partakes  much  of  its  charac- 
teristics. It  is  itself  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  and 
under  most  effective  circumstances. 

" '  The  faithful  messenger  of  grace,  as  he  ascends 
the  pulpit  and  proclaims  his  Master's  will,  meets  a 
promiscuous  congregation,  whose  numbers  encourage 
all  unseen  resistance  to  indiscriminate  warnings  and 
exhortations. 

"  '  But  mark  the  Sunday-school  teacher  as  he  pours 
the  light  of  truth  on  the  hearts  of  his  little  charge  with 
affectionate  and  lively  solicitude :  he  often  feels  that  it 
must  tell  on  their  consciences ;  he  almost  reaches  and 
touches  the  fountains  of  thought  and  sympathy.  The 
seed  may  lie  long  buried,  but  herein  is  his  hope : 
"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when 
he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

"  '  He  has  another  pledge.  God  has  said,  "  My  word 
shall  not  return  to  me  void ;"  and  no  matter  what  im- 
purity of  motive  may  enter  into  the  circulation  of  the 
truth,  it  shall  accomplish  all  His  gracious  purposes. 

"  '  The  age  on  which  this  influence  is  exerted  is  the 
most  ijropitious.  Eeligion  and  the  soundest  philoso- 
phy of  the  mind  alike  assure  its  that  the  best  mode 
of  having  the  man  as  we  wish  is  to  train  the  child  ;  to 
purify  the  fountain,  go  up  to  the  spring-head  if  we  ex- 
pect a  healthful  stream. 

"  '  The  Sabbath-school  approaches  with  its  instruc- 
tions just  when  they  will  sink  the  deepest  and  last  the 
longest.  It  makes  a  sacred  deposit  of  the  soundest 
rules  of  life,  of  public  duty,  of  private  conduct ;  rules 
which  form  the  faithful  friend,  the  upright  citizen,  the 
godly  man ;  rules  that  will  found  our  hopes  on  "  the 
Eock  of  ages;"  that  will  raise  a  shield  to  guard  our 
dearest  earthly  privileges,  and  train  up  a  generation 
that  we  may  hope  will  defend  the  cause  of  truth  and 
civil  liberty  when  those  who  train  them  shall  have 
done  with  the  duties  and  the  toils  of  time. 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   241 

"  '  Sir,  sucli  an  agency  is  beyond  all  human  estimates 
of  its  value.  I  would  most  cheerfully  trust  even  the 
cold  calculations  of  philosophy  for  an  approving  award 
in  behalf  of  a  system  that,  from  /Sabbath  to  Sabbath, 
brings  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  teachers,*  im- 
parting instruction  from  the  very  fountain  of  light  and 
truth,  and  directing  it  upon  more  than  one  million  of 
immortal  minds,  and  this  at  the  very  season  when  im- 
pressions are  more  easily  and  deeply  made.  What 
madness  of  hard-hearted  infidelity  could  doubt  or  op- 
pose such  an  influence  ? 

"  '  We  want  no  verdict  of  the  schools  of  philosophy. 
Every  heart  feels  to-day  its  value.  Here,  as  we  call 
up  from  the  stores  of  memory  the  recollections  and 
associations  of  childhood,  a  thought  dropped  on  the 
heart  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  years  ago,  rises  to  the 
mind ;  and,  as  we  perceive  and  feel  how  clear,  and 
strong,  and  vivid  it  is — how  fresh  its  impression,  now 
hallowed  by  time — we  all  know  by  certain  conclusive 
consciousness  how  unspeakably  important  are  the  les- 
sons of  childhood. 

"  '  Here  it  was  a  father's  faithful  counsels — there  it 
was  the  silent  eloquence  of  a  mother's  tears.  They 
made  a  lodgment  here  that  neither  the  follies  nor  the 
sins  of  after  years  could  impair  or  remove.  Lately  I 
read  of  a  pious  youth,  who,  on  examination  for  the 
ministry,  in  the  history  of  his  life,  at  that  interesting 
period  of  it  when  he  trusted  that  he  felt  the  power  of 
religion,  in  some  such  terms  as  these  referred  to  the 
leading  means  of  his  recovery  to  God.  Said  he,  "I 
trace  the  causes,  under  God,  to  a  mother's  faithfulness 
to  my  childhood.  Yes,"  said  he,  "the  taking  of  my 
little  hand  within  hers  (I  can  almost  feel  it  still),  as 
she  led  me  to  the  closet,  where  she  poured  out  her 
soul  for  my  salvation ;  the  sound  of  that  dear  voice  as 
I  would  pass  her  chamlber  door  as  she  wrestled  with 
the  God  of  Jacob  for  her  child;  these — these,"  said 

*  Now  nearer  200,000, 
T, 


242  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

he,  "  I  mark  as  among  the  effective  means  bj  which 
the  God  of  mercy  led  my  soul  to  himself." 

" '  And  the  Sahbath-school  is  a  kindred  agency ;  it 
ranges  by  the  side  of  parental  instruction ;  and  more 
than  50,000  witnesses  of  teachers  and  children  con- 
verted to  God  from  these  nurseries  of  purity,  demon- 
strate the  blessed  energy  of  this  scheme  of  mercy, 

"  '  Let  every  heart  bid  it  God  speed,  and  every  hand 
be  opened  wide  in  its  favor.' 

"  The  salutary  tendencies  of  the  institution  in  re- 
pressing the  inroads  of  vice  and  misrule  were  so  ob- 
vious to  his  mind  that,  if  no  other  advantage  could  be 
derived  from  it,  this  of  itself  would  warrant  all  the  la- 
bor and  expense  involved  in  sustaining  it.  He  saw 
that  even  then  (and  much  more  in  these  latter  days) 
there  was  a  gigantic  work  of  correction  and  repression 
to  be  done  in  our  land,  which  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  moral  forces ;  and  not  by  them  even,  unless 
applied  to  the  plastic  minds  and  hearts  of  children  and 
youth.  The  grand  principle  of  subordination  to  law- 
ful authority — to  God  as  supreme,  and  to  every  ordi- 
nance of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake — must  rule  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.  It  is  the  only  safeguard  under 
such  a  government  as  ours,  and,  to  secure  its  suprema- 
cy, it  must  as  surely  begin  at  the  cradle  as  it  ends  at 
the  grave. 

"In  December,  1836,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  urged 
to  enter  upon  the  exclusive  service  of  the  American 
Sunday-school  Union  at  a  salary  of  $3000.  A  depu- 
tation was  appointed  to  wait  upon  him  and  express 
the  views  and  wishes  of  the  Board.  He  listened  pa- 
tiently for  hours  to  the  representations  which  were 
made ;  manifested  a  deep  sense  of  the  importance  of 
the  proposition  and  of  the  responsibilities  involved, 
and  desired  time  for  reflection.  In  the  interview,  how- 
ever, he  intimated  the  conviction  that  the  sphere  of 
his  influence,  as  a  member  of  the  bar,  was  quite  as 
wide  as  he  could  wish  and  much  wider  than  he  could 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEYOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   243 

fill ;  and,  after  due  consideration,  lie  declined,  on  this 
ground,  the  proposed  connection. 

"It  was  unfortunate  for  the  success  of  the  attempt 
to  secure  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  services  that  the  place 
he  was  to  occupy  was  not  more  accurately  defined. 
To  one  of  his  methodical  habits  and  child-like  sim- 
plicity, it  was  important  that  any  service  required  of 
him  should  be  so  clearly  set  forth  that  he  could  at 
once  determine  whether  he  had  the  needful  qualifica- 
tions for  it,  and  whether  the  Providence  of  God  called 
him  to  it.  Of  course,  an  invitation  to  fill  a  place 
without  any  specification  of  the  duties  to  be  perform- 
ed or  the  responsibilities  incurred  was  not  accepted. 
That  such  a  connection  would  have  been  agreeable  to 
his  feelings  had  the  way  been  properly  prepared  for 
it,  the  deputation  had  no  doubt ;  and  that  his  greater 
professional  influence  and  associations  would  have 
been  no  obstacle  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  in  a 
few  years  thereafter  he  took  the  chancellorship  of  the 
New  York  University. 

"  In  October,  1843,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  says,  in  a  pri- 
vate letter, '  I  love  to  cherish  the  Sabbath-school,  and 
I  continue  my  relations  to  it  at  this  time  as  teacher  of 
an  interesting  Bible-class.  The  number  varies  from 
ten  to  eighteen,  composed  of  young  men  who  have 
passed  through  the  ordinary  stages  of  Sunday-school 
instruction.' 

"Seven  years  after  this  he  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  Eutger's  College ;  and  in  June  of  that  year 
(1850)  he  thus  expressed  himself  in  response  to  a  no- 
tice of  his  twenty-fourth  election  to  the  vice-presiden- 
cy of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union : 

"  '  I  feel  honored  by  such  an  association  with  a 
blessed  agency  of  the  Divine  goodness  for  our  whole 
race.  I  have  long  been  connected  with  its  labors  of 
love.  Some  of  my  most  favored  hours  have  been  in 
the  Sunday-school ;  and  my  prayer  is  that  God  would 
enlarge  its  influence  and  extend  its  relations  until  ev- 
ery tribe  and  kindred  shall  be  reached.' 


244  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

"  Meagre  as  are  these  memoranda  of  Mr.  Freling- 
buysen's  interest  and  public  labors  in  this  department 
of  Christian  benevolence,  they  suffice  to  show  that  as  a 
disciple  of  Christ,  a  citizen,  a  statesman,  and  a  philan- 
thropist, he  embraced  and  held  fast  the  Sunday-school 
as  (in  its  proper  sphere)  one  of  the  most  efficient,  wise, 
and  economical  agencies  for  the  diffusion  of  religious 
knowledge,  for  the  advancement  of  human  happiness, 
and  for  the  extension  and  prosperity  of  the  Kedeem- 
er's  kingdom,  known  to  our  age." 

« 

AMERICAN  TEMPERANCE   UNION. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  at  a  very  early  period  became 
connected  with  the  movement  made  in  this  country 
for  the  discouragement  of  intemperance,  and  contin- 
ued throughout  life  a  steadfast  friend  of  the  cause. 
Ardent  spirits,  and  afterward  wine,  were  banished  from 
his  table  and  his  house  as  a  beverage,  and  he  never 
failed,  on  any  proper  occasion,  to  counsel  others  to  pur- 
sue the  same  course.  His  speeches  in  favor  of  total  ab- 
stinence from  all  that  can  intoxicate  were  innumera- 
ble, and  pronounced  before  assemblies  of  all  kinds  and 
numbers,  from  a  Congressional  meeting  in  the  hall  of 
the  House  of  Eepresentatives  at  Washington  down  to 
a  neighborhood  gathering  in  a  country  school-house. 

His  advocacy  of  this  cause  was  marked  by  two  fea- 
tures characteristic  of  the  man.  One  was  his  defer- 
ence to  Scripture  teaching.  He  gave  no  countenance 
to  the  impeachments  of  Divine  truth  and  wisdom  in' 
which  some  overzealous  speakers  allowed  themselves, 
but  always  planted  his  inculcation  of  the  duty  of  ab- 
stinence upon  the  doctrine  of  Christian  expediency  as 
stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul.     The  other  was  the  ab- 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   245 

sence  of  harsh  denunciation  and  invective.  He  spoke 
with  meekness  of  wisdom.  He  knew  that  it  is  the 
soft  word  which  breaketh  the  bone,  and  his  intense 
earnestness  was  tempered  and  refined  by  Christian 
love.  Hence  even  habitual  drunkards  were  never 
alienated  or  embittered  by  the  rebukes,  in  public  or 
private,  which  his  faithfulness  led  him  to  administer. 
The  following  letter  from  the  Eev.  Dr.  Marsh  fitly 
indicates  the  scope  and  character  of  his  public  efforts 
on  behalf  of  this  great  moral  reform : 

"  Office  of  American  Temperance  Union,) 
July  30,  1862.  | 

"  Eev.  Dr.  Chambers  : 
"Dear  Sir, — You  ask  from  us  at  this  ofi&ce  for 
some  reminiscences  of  the  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuy- 
sen,  one  of  our  late  vice-presidents,  and  for  a  time  chair- 
man of  our  executive  committee,  but  now  numbered, 
we  believe,  with  that  glorious  company  of  redeemed 
ones  who  stand  before  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  commenced 
in  the  winter  of  1831-2  at  Washington,  where  I  was 
deputed  by  the  American  Temperance  Society  to  ex- 
cite an  interest  for  the  temperance  cause  in  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  government.  On  propounding  to 
him  my  views  and  objects,  he  at  once  gave  me  his 
friendship  and  support,  introducing  me  to  other  gen- 
tlemen, and  co-operating  in  a  plan  for  a  public  Con- 
gressional temperance  meeting  in  the  Capitol.  That 
meeting  was  held  early  in  January.  Governor  Cass, 
then  Secretary  of  War,  presided  ;  and  the  meeting  was 
addressed  by  the  Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  United  States 
senator  from  Tennessee ;  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  senator 
from  New  Jersey ;  Hon,  J.  C.  Bates,  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Massachusetts ;  Hon.  James  M.  "Wayne, 
from  Georgia ;  and  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  United  States 
senator  from  Massachusetts.    The  assembly  was  large, 


246  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

and  the  meeting  most  impressive.  The  address  of  Mr. 
Frelinghiiysen  completely  dissipated  all  the  levity  and 
hilarity  with  which  such  a  meeting  of  the  splendor 
and  gayety  of  Washington  was  anticipated,  and  gave 
a  tone  of  tenderness  and  solemnity  in  its  portraiture 
of  the  personal  and  domestic  evils  of  intemperance  not 
easily  forgotten.  At  subsequent  Congressional  meet- 
ings of  a  similar  character,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  voice 
was  lifted  up  with  great  energy  and  power  against  the 
drinking  usages  of  men  in  public  stations,  and  when 
the  Congressional  Temperance  Society  was  organized 
in  1833,  he  became  chairman  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee, and,  in  connection  with  his  most  intimate 
friends,  Hon.  A.  Naudain,  of  Delaware,  Hon.  John 
Blair,  of  Tennessee,  Hon.  George  N.  Briggs,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Hon.  Eleutheros  Cook,  of  Ohio,  he  was 
instrumental  of  moulding  a  large  portion  of  the  Con- 
gress of  that  period  to  temperance  principles. 

"On  his  removal  to  this  city  in  1841,  he  at  once 
gladly  co-operated  with  us  in  our  labors,  and  accepted 
the  appointment  of  chairman  of  our  executive  com- 
mittee, giving  to  us  as  much  of  his  time  and  counsel 
as  his  situation  allowed. 

"Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  a  thorough  temperance 
man  from  principle.  Devoting  himself  soul  and  body 
to  the  service  of  God,  he  kept  his  body  under  that  it 
might  be  a  fit  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  he  held 
himself  accountable  for  his  influence  upon  others,  and, 
seeing  the  awful  ravages  of  intemperance,  especially 
among  men  in  the  higher  walks  of  life,  in  the  legal 
profession,  on  the  bench,  and  in  Congress,  he  was  re- 
solved to  set  an  example  which  all  men  might  follow 
with  safety ;  and  in  the  stand  he  had  taken  from  Chris- 
tian principle,  he  found  himself  wondrously  strength- 
ened by  his  personal  experience.  In  answer  to  a  let- 
ter from  Dr.  Edwards,  he  said, 

"  'I  have  been  favored  with  your  circular  request- 
ing the  results  of  my  experience  in  the  matter  of  en- 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   247 

tire  abstinence  from  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor, 
and  especially  as  to  its  effects  on  health,  on  bodily  and 
mental  ability,  and  the  feelings  of  the  mind.  I  can, 
from  personal  experience,  bear  decided  testimony  to 
the  happiest  results,  in  all  these  particulars,  arising 
from  entire  abstinence.  For  the  last  nine  years  I  have 
wholly  abstained  from  ardent  spirits,  and  habitually 
from  all  fermented  liquors.  The  last  year,  which  has 
been  the  period  in  which  I  have  relinquished  even  the 
occasional  use  of  wine,  I  have  enjoyed  better  health 
than  in  either  of  the  nine.  And  it  is  an  interesting 
and  grateful  fact  to  me  that  protracted  and  severe  men- 
tal efforts  can  now  be  borne  loithout  weariness^  bodily 
exercise  and  labor  are  refreshing,  and  the  mind  is  far 
more  cheerful,  composed,  and  self-possessed  than  in 
the  days  of  infatuation,  when  the  spirits  and  wine  cup 
met  us  on  every  sideboard,  and  assailed  us  at  every 
table.' 

"It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  temperance  reformation  wine  and  fermented  drinks 
were  not  excluded.  Soon,  however,  as  it  was  under- 
stood that  this  exclusion  was  essential  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  reformation,  no  man  more  heartily  adopted 
it,  and,  as  manifested  in  the  above,  with  higher  per- 
sonal enjoyment.  As  a  speaker  in  temperance  meet- 
ings, no  individual  was  more  acceptable,  whenever  his 
services  could  be  obtained,  than  Mr.  Frelinghuysen. 
The  seriousness  and  earnestness  of  his  manner,  the 
honesty  and  firmness  of  his  soul,  and  the  softness  of 
his  tones,  can  never  be  forgotten.  He  put  men  who 
indulged  their  appetite  to  their  own  ruin  and  the  ruin 
of  others  to  shame,  and  made  the  hosts  of  temperance 
rally  around  their  standard  with  the  greatest  earnest- 
ness and  confidence  of  triumph.  In  the  extraordinary 
reformation  of  inebriates  in  1840-41,  he  felt  the  deep- 
est interest ;  and  while  he  would  use  all  moral  influ- 
ence to  reclaim  the  victims  of  the  cup,  no  man  was 
more  decided  in  bringing  legislation  to  bear  upon  the 


248  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN". 

traffic,  tlie  direct  cause  of  almost  all  tlie  drunkenness 
and  crime  of  the  land.  His  opinions  on  this  subject 
were  well  matured,  and  were  expressed  with  great 
strength,  and  do  demand  the  attention  of  every  legis- 
lator in  our  land.  If  you  have  room,  I  wish  you  would 
give  them  a  place  in  your  memoir.  I  could  give  you 
several  expressions  of  them,  but  one  embodies  them 
all — a  letter  to  Eev.  Dr.  Edwards,  in  ISS-i,  relating  to 
the  Sixth  Annual  Eeport  of  the  American  Temper- 
ance Society,  in  which  the  system  of  license  was  ably 
discussed.     In  that  letter  he  said, 

"  '  I  have  read  with  great  satisfaction  the  Sixth  An- 
nual Eeport  of  your  society,  and  especially  that  por- 
tion of  it  between  pages  44  and  69,  on  the  immorality 
of  authorizing  by  law  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirit  as  a 
drink.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  how  fully  and 
heartily  I  concur  in  the  views  and  principles  that  are 
therein  so  ably  sustained.  If  the  use  of  ardent  spirits 
be  wrong,  it  seems  to  be  a  result  of  inevitable  deduc- 
tion that  the  traffic  in  it  is  at  least  equally  so.  And 
hence,  while  many  have  ridiculed,  I  have  always  hon- 
ored the  conduct  of  those  persons  who,  under  honest 
convictions  of  the  evils  of  intemperance,  have  re- 
nounced all  connection  and  terms  with  ardent  spirits, 
broken  in  the  head  of  the  cash,  and  poured  out  the  de- 
structive poison  on  the  ground.  This  was  a"  noble 
tribute  to  principle  that  would  not  hesitate  between 
the  cold  calculations  of  avarice,  and  the  high  claims  of 
duty,  and  the  peace  of  a  pure  conscience.  How  can  a 
just  mind  engage  in  a  commerce  all  the  details  of 
which  are  fruitful  of  evil  ? 

"  '  The  use  of  ardent  sjjirit  is  attended  by  peculiar 
circumstances.  It  is  not  an  ordinary  and  harmless 
beverage,  as  to  which  every  man  may  be  safely  trust- 
ed with  his  own  keeping,  but  it  is  an  insidious  and 
dangerous  practice,  that  gradually  forms  an  artificial 
and  depraved  appetite.  It  deranges  and  inflames  the 
whole  organic  system  of  the  body,  aggravates  instead 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.   249 

of  allaying  thirst,  and  creates  an  inward  craving  that 
has,  in  some  cases,  seemed  to  me  like  the  gnawings  of 
despair. 

" '  And,  worse  still,  this  habit  relaxes  the  hold  of 
good  principles  by  impairing  the  moral  sense.  A 
man's  self-respect  falls  among  its  first  victims.  These 
sad  results  are  confined  to  no  class  or  condition.  The 
strong  men  and  the  feeble  are  equally  exposed  to  its 
ravages.  The  truth  is  (and  every  grave-yard  proves 
it),  the  man  who  habitually  drinks  ardent  spirit,  no 
matter  hoio  iemjperately^  has  cause  to  tremble,  for  his 
danger  is  not  only  real,  but  imminent. 

"  'To  a  subject,  therefore,  of  such  peculiar  and  dread- 
ful energy,  reaching  so  far  and  assailing  so  many  in- 
terests, we  must  apply  peculiar  remedies.  It  is  mere 
tampering  with  temptation  to  come  short  of  positive, 
decided,  and  uncompromising  opposition.  We  must 
not  only  resist^  we  must  drive  it.  To  stand  on  the  de- 
fensive merely  is  to  aid  in  its  triumph. 

"  '  The  second  inquiry  which  you  have  proposed 
presents  one  of  the  most  interesting  questions  of  pub- 
lic duty.  The  ground  taken  in  your  report  is,  be- 
yond all  serious  controversy,  among  the  clearest  and 
soundest  conclusions  of  right  reason  :  "  That  the  laws 
which  authorize  the  traf&c  in  ardent  spirit  as  a  drink, 
by  licensing  men  to  pursue  it,  are  morally  wrong." 

"  'Law-makers  are,  of  all  men,  bound  to  seek  the 
public  good.  So  broad  is  this  duty,  that  they  are  un- 
der peculiar  obligations  to  consecrate  the  influence  of 
a  pure  and  personal  example  to  the  promotion  of  the 
general  welfare ;  but,  first  of  all,  should  their  legisla- 
tion he  pure  ;  not  only  preventive  of  evil,  but  persua- 
sive to  good.  No  man  fit  to  represent  a  free  people 
will  deny  these  propositions.  Then  what  can  we  urge 
in  excuse  for  the  countenance  given  to  the  use  of  ar- 
dent spirit  on  almost  every  statute-book?  On  one 
page  you  will  read  of  heavy  penalties  denounced 
against  drunkenness,  riots,  and  public  disorders,  and 
L2 


250  LIFE  OF  FEELINGHUYSEN". 

the  next  chapter  authorizes  the  retail  of  the  very  poi- 
son which,  all  admit,  brings  on  these  outbreaking 
transgressions.  Who  can  reconcile  these  glaring  con- 
tradictions? It  is  time,  every  reflecting  mind  ex- 
claims, it  is  high  time  to  emancipate  ourselves  from 
these  humiliating  practices.  The  use  of  ardent  spirit 
has  introduced  a  course  of  reasoning  and  conduct  that 
libels  human  nature.  Who  can  dwell  upon  it  with- 
out feelings  of  shame,  that  we  should  have  gravely 
provided,  by  public  law,  that  if  men  will  pay  for  the 
mischievous  faculty,  they  may  set  up  a  tavern,  and  sell 
as  much  rum  as  they  please,  short  of  drunkenness; 
may  scatter  firebrands  and  death  all  around  them ; 
beguile  unwary  youth,  and  poison  the  very  fountains 
of  moral  purity,  and  inflict  an  amount  of  injury  on  the 
vital  interests  of  the  community  that  neither  time  nor 
law  can  repair. 

"  '  I  rejoice,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  are  endeavoring 
to  bring  this  subject  before  the  scrutiny  of  public  men. 
You  can  not  fail  in  a  purpose  so  fraught  with  bene- 
fits. We  owe  it  to  our  history,  to  our  free  institutions, 
and,  above  all,  we  owe  it  to  Him  whose  benignant 
providence  has  so  richly  blessed  us,  that  we  purify  our 
laws.  And  if  men  will  engage  in  this  destructive 
traffic — if  they  will  stoop  to  degrade  their  reason  and 
reap  the  wages  of  iniquity,  let  them  no  longer  have 
the  law-hook  as  a  pillow,  nor  quiet  conscience  by  the 
opiate  of  a  court  license. 

"  "  'I  am  persuaded  that  the  course  of  past  legislation 
has  greatly  increased  the  evil  of  which  we  complain. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise?  Men  can  hardly  avoid 
looking  up  to  the  halls  of  legislation  for  standards  of 
duty ;  they  expect  to  find  models  there  that  may  be 
safely  followed ;  and  when  these  high  places  have  de- 
liberately sanctioned  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  when 
under  legal  regulations^  the  conclusion  has  been  natu- 
ral and  prompt  that,  when  it  was  clothed  in  these  le- 
gal forms,  it  was  not  only  excusable,  but  lawful.    Men 


CONNECTION  WITH  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTIONS.  251 

would  not  take  time  to  question  the  moral  power  of  a 
Legislature  to  make  that  right  which  God  declares  to 
be  wrong.  The  lamented  fact  has  been,  they  did  not 
wish  to  believe  in  any  defect  of  power ;  they  loved  to 
have  it  so,  and  accordingly  reposed  on  the  plausible 
authority  of  a  positive  statute. 

'"I  trust  and  pray  that  light  will  very  soon  become 
strong  enough  to  expose  all  these  delusions,  and  that, 
by  your  laudable  efforts  and  the  blessing  of  God,  our 
public  men,  our  state  and  national  Legislatures,  with 
the  whole  body  of  our  people,  will  address  to  this  sub- 
ject the  just  and  deep  reflection  that  it  deserves,  and 
will,  with  heart  and  hand,  by  one  combined  and  bless- 
ed effort,  shake  off  forever  the  bondage  under  which 
our  land  has  groaned.' 

"  On  the  adoption  of  the  Prohibitory  Law  by  Maine 
and  other  New  England  states  in  1851, 1854,  and  1855, 
he  made  an  address  before  the  New  Jersey  State  So- 
ciety at  New  Brunswick,  endorsing  the  whole,  and 
commending  it  most  warmly  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
The  impression  was  most  happy.  But  his  most  fer- 
vent prayer  was  that  the  ministry  and  the  churches  of 
our  land  might  clear  themselves  from  all  participation 
of  guilt  in  the  existence  and  spread  of  intemperance, 
both  for  their  own  sake,  and  that  the  greatest  hinder- 
ance  to  the  conversion  of  sinners,  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  evangelization  of  the  world  might 
speedily  be  removed. 

"  We  all,  sir,  have  reason  to  bless  God  that  we  have 
had  a  Frelinghuysen  among  us ;  that  he  has  been  as- 
sociated with  us ;  that  he  has  taught  us  how  to  bear 
scoffings  and  revilings,  how  to  breast  opposition,  how 
to  persevere  amid  trials  and  disappointments,  and  how 
to  cast  all  our  care  upon  Him  who  careth  for  us,  and 
will  finally  cause  His  people  to  triumph  in  every  place 
to  His  own  glory. 

"  Fearing  I  have  written  you  too  long  a  letter,  yet 
having  much  more  to  say,  I  am  yours  res|)ectfully, 
"John  Maksh,  Cor.  Sec.  A.  T.  U." 


252  LIFE   OF  FKELmGHUySEN. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    CLOSING    SCENE. 

Origin  of  his  Sickness. — Fear  of  Death. — Fear  overcome. — Profound 
Humility. — Submission. — Temptations. — Remembrances. — Inter- 
view with  Dr.  Campbell. — Advice  to  a  Youth. — Desire  to  Depart. 
— The  peaceful  End.  <► 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen  enjoyed  good  health.  In  the  latter  portion  of  it 
his  constitution  became  impaired,  and  constant  care 
was  required  to  keep  him  in  working  condition.  He 
felt  especially  the  need  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and 
this  he  was  accustomed  to  take  with  great  regularity. 
But  the  weather  during  the  winter  of  1861-62  was 
unfavorable  for  this  purpose,  especially  to  a  man  of 
his  years.  There  were  frequent  falls  of  snow ;  and  al- 
though no  large  quantity  fell  at  any  one  time,  yet 
there  was  enough  to  cover  the  ground,  and  when,  aft- 
er partially  thawing,  it  froze,  the  roads  and  paths  were 
coated  with  ice,  and  the  walking  became  very  unsafe. 
Mr.  Frelinghuy sen  was  thus  cut  off  from  his  usual  and 
necessary  outdoor  rambles,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
general  tone  of  his  system  was  lowered.  About  this 
time  the  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln  was  issued, 
recommending  the  people  to  meet  in  their  usual  places 
of  public  assemblage  on  the  anniversary  of  Washing- 
ton's birthday,  and  attend  the  reading  of  the  Farewell 
Address  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  The  second 
Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  in  New  Bruns- 


CLOSING  SCENE.  253 

wick,  the  one  in  wliich  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  regularly 
worshiped,  was  opened  on  that  day,  and  he  attended 
the  services.  But  the  day  was  a  chilly  one,  and  the 
house  imperfectly  warmed,  so  that  he  took  a  severe 
cold.  He  employed  the  remedies  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed,  and  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  skillful 
medical  attendance ;  but,  although  the  disease  was 
subdued,  his  stomach  began  to  fail,  and  he  became  un- 
able to  retain  any  nourishment.  First  one  kind  of 
food  was  rejected,  and  then  another,  until  the  whole 
list  was  exhausted,  and  he  could  take  nothing  but  stim- 
ulants. At  last  even  these  were  nauseated,  and  then, 
of  course,  the  end  drew  rapidly  on. 

In  the  earlier  period  of  his  sickness  he  had  no  ap- 
prehension of  a  fatal  issue,  and  even  when  the  symp- 
toms became  more  formidable  he  still  cherished  the 
hope  that  he  should  not  die,  but  live,  and  labor  still 
longer  in  the  Master's  vineyard.  But  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  last  fortnight  the  issue  became  very 
clear  to  his  mind,  and  he  looked  death  steadily  in  the 
face.  Here  occurred  one  of  the  most  delightful  sur- 
prises of  his  life. 

During  his  whole  previous  career  he  had  been, 
through  fear  of  death,  subject  to  bondage.  It  was 
not,  as  has  been  the  case  with  many  eminent  Chris- 
tians, that  he  dreaded  dying,  the  physical  act,  the  un- 
known pang  which  attends  the  article  of  dissolution. 
His  apprehensions  went  deeper  than  this.  It  was 
death  itself  which  alarmed  him,  the  cessation  of  this 
earthly  sojourn,  where  the  means  of  grace  are  enjoy- 
ed, and  there  is  time  and  room  for  securing  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul.    Death  introduces  man  into  the  pres- 


254:  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

ence  of  his  Judge  and  the  retributions  of  eternity.  He 
feared  that  when  this  occurred  he  would  not  be  found 
prepared,  but  make  shipwreck  of  his  souL  No  one 
else  shared  in  the  least  in  these  apprehensions,  and  he 
himself  could  not  justify  them  when  calmly  studying 
the  case  in  view  of  the  Savior's  finished  work  and  the 
Father's  everlasting  covenant.  Still  the  fear  remain- 
ed, or,  if  for  a  time  removed,  it  would  recur  again,  and 
make  death  a  hideous  thing  to  his  soul.  Thus,  just 
before  the  worst  symptoms  of  his  disease  appeared,  he 
had  passed  a  tolerable  night,  and  awoke  in  the  morn- 
ing refreshed  and  encouraged,  when  one  of  his  nieces 
coming  into  the  room,  he  said  to  her,  "Ah !  it  is  a  sol- 
emn thing  to  he  so  near  eternity."  She  replied,  "We 
indeed  feel  that,  but  it  should  not  seem  so  to  you." 
To  this  his  answer  was,  "Yes;  but  my  shortcomings — 
my  shortcomings !"  The  sense  of  his  own  sinfulness, 
the  imperfections  of  his  life,  the  vast  distance  between 
what  he  was  and  what  he  ought  to  be,  ever  pressed 
upon  his  mind,  and  overshadowed  the  fullness  of  that 
grace  which  alone  can  furnish  a  basis  of  hope  to  any 
enlightened  mind.  It  was  not  because  he  expected 
to  attain  heaven  by  works  and  saw  their  insufficiency, 
but  because  he  knew  we  mnst  be  born  again  in  order 
to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  it  seemed  to  him  as 
if  his  defects  of  obedience  proved  that  he  had  not  ex- 
perienced the  great  change. 

But,  whatever  be  the  precise  origin  or  ground  of  his 
distressing  apprehensions,  they  all  disappeared  at  once 
and  forever  in  the  closing  weeks  of  his  life.  For  near- 
ly half  a  century  he  had  been  carrying  this  grievous 
burden,  which  reason  and  faith  seemed  alike  unable  to 


CLOSING  SCENE.  255 

throw  off,  but  wlien  the  hour  came,  the  burden,  like 
Christian's  at  the  wicket-gate,  fell  away  of  itself,  and 
he  saw  it  no  more.  He  entered  into  the  full  assurance 
of  faith  and  of  hope.  Not  a  cloud  lingered  in  his  sky. 
Faith  performed  its  perfect  work.  Love  was  kindled 
into  ecstasy.  Beams  from  the  heavenly  glory  played 
around  his  bedside,  and  his  face  was  as  if  illumined  by 
the  aureola  of  the  saints.  This  calm  and  sweet  peace 
which  diffused  itself  through  his  soul  was  not  the 
dream  of  delirium,  nor  the  excitement  of  fever,  nor 
the  rebound  of  tensely-strung  nerves.  It  had  no  earth- 
ly or  physical  cause.  It  was  the  release  which  the 
Lord  might  be  expected  to  bestow  on  his  faithful  serv- 
ant, in  anticipation  of  the  unbounded  liberty  of  the 
upper  skies.  Perhaps  it  had  been  needful,  as  part  of 
the  restraining  discipline  called  for  by  the  temptations 
of  his  life,  that  such  a  devoted  Christian  should  walk 
so  long  in  this  bondage ;  but  now,  when  the  end  was 
so  near,  when  he  had  finished  his  course  and  con- 
cluded his  warfare,  it  seemed  good  to  the  Lord  to 
crown  the  holy  and  useful  life  with  a  happy  and  tri- 
umphant death.  The  dying  man  himself  never  grew 
weary  of  expatiating  on  the  marvelous  change,  and 
praising  the  grace  which  had  wrought  it. 

His  profound  and  unaffected  humility  was  often  ex- 
hibited. He  had  nothing  to  say  of  his  past  life — that 
life  so  full  of  faith,  love,  charity,  so  pure,  and  simple, 
and  stainless,  so  honorable  to  the  Gospel,  and  so  bless- 
ed to  man.  It  had  been,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation 
of  the  term,  "a  well-spent  life;"  one  which,  all  things 
considered,  has  rarely  been  equaled  in  our  own  age  or 
any  other ;  yet  no  part  of  his  peace,  comfort,  or  hope 


256  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN-. 

was  derived  from  looking  back  upon  it,  upon  its  years 
crowded  with  deeds  of  usefulness  and  continually  ad- 
vancing in  holiness.  His  own  oft-repeated  words  were, 
"I  am  nothing — nothing  at  all,  only  a  poor  sinner 
saved  by  grace."  Not  the  thief  who  hung  by  the  Sav- 
ior's side— not  the  outcast  saved  so  as  by  fire,  depend- 
ed more  simply  or  more  entirely  upon  the  riches  of 
free  grace  than  did  this  honored  Christian  philanthro- 
pist, who  was  crowning  a  long  life  of  active  godliness 
with  a  death  of  serene  triumph. 

One  of  the  greatest  trials  caused  by  death  was  the 
parting  it  involved  from  friends  on  earth.  He  was 
surrounded  by  a  large  circle  of  kindred  and  connec- 
tions, in  whom  he  took  a  deep  interest,  to  whom  he 
was  always  a  faithful  and  unwearied  friend,  and  by 
whom  he  was  regarded  with  an  affectionate  reverence 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  describe.  To  these  his  house 
and  his  heart  were  always  open,  and  it  was  one  of  his 
highest  earthly  pleasures  to  enjoy  their  society.  But 
as  the  end  drew  on,  the  ties  which  bound  here  below 
were  sensibly  relaxed,  and  he  looked  forward  with 
greater  desire  to  the  heavenly  rest.  This  result  was 
accelerated  by  his  bodily  sufferings,  which  were  pro- 
tracted and  at  times  very  severe.  Once,  on  being  told 
that  he  seemed  to  suffer  much,  he  replied,  "  Yes ;  how 
glad  I  shall  be  to  rest  this  weary  head  on  my  Savior's 
bosom,  to  tell  Him  how  often  I  have  grieved  Him,  and 
to  speak  of  all  His  mercies  to  me." 

The  following  more  detailed  account  of  what  occur- 
red in  his  sick-room  has  been  kindly  furnished  by  one 
who  was  present : 


CLOSIKG  SCENE.  257 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  take  the  first  opportunity  to 
give,  as  requested,  some  account  of  the  closing  scene 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  life.  To  that  I  must  confine 
myself,  or  I  become  his  eulogist.  I  knew  him  as  well 
as  one  man  ever  knew  another,  and  I  found  in  him 
less  to  condemn  and  more  to  admire  than  in  any  other 
man  I  ever  knew.  Kature  had  done  much  for  him 
in  his  person,  his  voice,  his  mien,  his  genial,  high-toned 
piety,  in  the  easy  play  of  his  emotions,  and  in  his  gift 
of  eloquence. 

"Education,  intellectual  and  social,  did  much  for 
him.  At  school,  in  college,  in  his  profession,  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation,  and  as  the  head  of  literary  in- 
stitutions, he  seems  always  to  have  been  placed  where 
the  powers  of  a  naturally  strong  and  comprehensive 
mind  could  be  advantageously  developed ;  while  at 
the  home  of  his  boyhood,  as  well  as  at  his  own  family 
circle,  he  was  always  surrounded  by  those  refining  in- 
fluences which  do  so  much  to  purify  taste  and  elevate 
sentiment.  But  it  was  to  grace  that  he  was  the  great- 
est debtor ;  its  renewing  and  sanctifying  influence  was 
constantly  observable  in  his  life ;  and  if  I  were  asked 
what  one  thing  did  most  to  make  him  what  he  was,  I 
would  answer  that  it  was  his  inflexible,  undeviating 
habit  of  daily  communion  with  his  God.  It  was  as 
his  character  assimilated  to  that  of  our  Savior  that  he 
was  most  admirable. 

"Pardon  me,  it  was  some  account  of  his  death-scene 
you  desired.  You  are  aware  that  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
had  always  been  much  afraid  of  death.  Not  that  he 
was  a  coward  ;  for  what  he  did  not  dare  to  do,  which 
was  right  to  be  done,  no  man  would  ever  dare  to  do. 
His  dread  of  death  arose  from  his  appreciating  better 
than  many  others  the  fearful  responsibilities  of  the 
change  from  time  to  eternity,  and  from  the  fact  that 
while  grace  to  live  by  had  been  freely  given  him,  he 
had  not  yet  received  to  his  satisfaction  dying  grace. 

"  I  had  visited  him  several  times  after  he  was  taken 


258  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

sick,  and  wlieu  lie  was  still  able  to  move  about  in  bis 
room.  About  ten  clays  before  his  death  he  made  the 
first  allusion  to  any  impression  that  this  might  be  his 
last  sickness.  He  then  said, '  I  feel  that  matters  are 
coming  to  a  close  with  me.  I  can  not  bear  this  dis- 
ease much  longer.'  On  being  told  that  there  was  a 
prospect  of  his  recovery,  he  said, '  Perhaps  so ;'  and 
then  exclaimed, '  How  gracious  God  in  Christ  is !  and 
I  feel  happy  in  hearing  Him  say,  Come  up,  come  up.' 
On  being  prayed  with,  he  expressed  the  pleasure  which 
extemporaneous  prayers,  coming  from  the  heart,  gave 
him. 

"In  conversation  I  said  to  him,  'You  were  always 
much  afraid  of  death,  but  seem  now  to  contemplate  its 
approach  calmly.'  He  said  that  that  fear  had  been  re- 
moved, and  that,  some  weeks  before,  God  had  placed 
in  his  way  some  beautiful  lines  [by  a  living  English 
writer,  Mrs.  A.  L. Waring],  the  spirit  of  which  he  fully 
felt.     He  then  repeated  them  to  me : 

I  love  to  think  that  God  appoints 

My  portion  day  by  day ; 
Events  of  life  arc  in  His  hand, 

And  I  would  only  say, 
"Appoint  them  in  thine  own  good  time, 

And  in  thine  own  best  way. 

"All  things  shall  mingle  for  my  good, 
I  would  not  change  them  if  I  could, 

Nor  alter  Thy  decree. 
Thou  art  above  and  I  below, 
Thy  will  be  done,  and  even  so, 

For  so  it  pleaseth  Thee." 

"  The  last  week  of  his  life  I  was  constantly  with 
him.  He  was  always  cheerful,  sometimes  indulging 
in  pleasantry,  in  alluding  to  old  anecdotes  and  scenes, 
and  he  never  for  a  moment  doubted  his  entire  safety 
in  the  Eedeemer,  His  interest  in  the  affairs  of  time 
continued,  and  he  frequently  spoke  about  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country  ;  but  his  views  on  that  subject,  as 
he  had  retired  from  the  political  world,  I  will  withhold. 


CLOSING  SCENE.  259 

"It  was  an  interesting  feature  of  his  last  days  that 
he  had  almost  constantly,  night  and  day,  by  his  bed- 
side, four  persons,  the  heads  of  families,  two  gentlemen 
and  two  ladies,  whom  he  had  befriended  in  their  or- 
phanage ;  not  alone  by  pecuniary  aid — no,  that  is  the 
least  worthy  of  note.  He  had  been  to  them  a  true  fa- 
ther, loving,  counseling,  caring  for  them,  continuing 
his  interest  through  life,  looking  upon  their  children 
as  his,  to  them  all  giving  his  dying  benedictions  and 
prayers.  One  of  these,  an  accomplished  and  most  in- 
teresting Christian  lady,  on  one  occasion  when  he  was 
restless,  leaned  over  the  bed,  took  his  hand,  and  with 
a  voice  full  of  melody,  quietly  repeated  to  him  the 
twenty-third  Psalm,  '  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,'  etc. 
'  May  God  bless  you !'  was  the  response  of  the  aged 
saint.  It  was  a  beautiful  scene.  I  thought,  while 
standing  there,  with  what  exquisite  tenderness  God 
makes  return  to  the  benevolent  man  for  each  gener- 
ous act. 

"Another  of  the  four  persons  alluded  to  was  a  skill- 
ful physician,  who  by  night  and  day,  with  unremit- 
ting attention,  nursed  and  cared  for  his  benefactor. 
He  kissed  him  farewell.  He  performed  the  last  offices 
of  friendship,  and  then  stood  unmanned  beside  the  re- 
mains of  him  who  took  care  of  him  when  an  orphan 
boy. 

"I  had  frequent  conversations  with  him.  At  one 
time  when  he  was  restless,  and  the  family  were  sent 
for,_  the  last  twelve  verses  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Eomans  were  read  to  him.  After  pray- 
er, he  called  me  to  the  head  of  his  bed,  for  he  was  very 
weak,  and  said  that  Satan  was  tempting  him  to  doubt 
the  divinity  of  the  Savior ;  suggesting  that  the  disci- 
ples performed  miracles,  and  therefore  the  fact  that 
Christ  performed  them  was  no  evidence  that  he  was 
God.  He  said  that  he  met  the  suggestion  by  saying 
to  the  tempter  that  the  disciples  could  not  have  pos- 
sessed the  power  to  work  miracles,  because  Christ 


260  LIFE   OF  FEELINGHUYSEN. 

never  gave  it  to  tliem ;  that  power  He  held  in  His 
own  hands.  They  performed  miracles  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  but  Christ  by  His  own  power. 
'  Oh,'  said  he,  '  it  is  a  precious  Gospel.    It  is  the  value 

of  my  soul.     It  is  now  my  stay.     Study  it,  my , 

study  it,  day  and  night.  It  is  solemn  for  me,  on  the 
verge  of  eternity,  to  be  thus  urging  you.  I  should 
like  to  talk  more,  but  am  too  weak.'  On  being  told 
that  it  would  be  strange  if,  in  his  weak  state,  he  met 
with  no  temptations,  he  said,  '  When  I  am  tempted,  I 
go  to  the  promises  from  Genesis  to  Eevelation,  and 
from  Eevelation  to  Genesis.  I  seem  to  know  them 
all.' 

"  To  another  gentleman  of  mature  years,  whom  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  had  cared  for  and  educated,  he  said, 
'  This  is  a  trying  hour,  but  the  Lord  has  sustained  me. 
He  promised  that  He  would,  and  He  always  will  do 
it.'  Then  bidding  him  farewell,  he  expressed  the  hope 
that  they  would  all  meet  in  heaven. 

"  One  of  the  leading  members  of  the  New  Jersey 
bar  called  to  ask  after  his  health,  and  told  me  that  it 
was  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  conversations  with  him,  as 
they  walked  in  the  morning  together  when  attending 
court  at  Trenton,  that  he  attributed  his  first  religious 
impressions.  When  this  was  repeated  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen,  he  replied, '  Those  are  precious  remembran- 
ces.' 

"One  day,  as  we  were  leaving  his  room  to  go  to 
dinner,  some  one  pleasantly  said,  '  Uncle,  we  wish  you 
could  take  dinner  with  us.'  '  Ah !  my  son,'  he  re- 
plied, '  I  am  going  to  eat  of  the  bread  and  drink  of 
the  wine  of  everlasting  life.' 

"A  day  or  two  before  he  died,  the  Eev.  Dr.W.  H. 
Campbell,  who  afterward  became  his  successor  as  pres- 
ident of  Eutger's  College,  called  on  him.  I  was  not 
present  during  tlie  whole  interview,  and,  as  I  came 
into  the  room,  I  beheld  what  was  to  me  a  striking 
scene.     Dr.  Campbell  held  the  almost  dying  man  by 


CLOSING  SCENE.  261 

the  hand,  and,  the  tears  coursing  rapidly  down  his  face, 
said,  with  a  cheerful,  manly  voice,  '  Farewell,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen,  farewell.  I  expect  soon  to  join  you.  I 
shall  not  remain  long  here.  Farewell,  sir.'  *  Fare- 
well, my  friend,'  was  the  reply ;  '  but  you  must  stay 
here.  God  has  a  work  for  you,  and  you  will  yet  ac- 
complish great  good.'  Then,  as  the  reverend  gentle- 
man left  the  room,  he  said  to  one  standing  by  his  bed, 
'  You  do  not  know  that  man ;  he  is  an  honest,  manly 
Christian.' 

"  Afterward,  a  youth  of  about  seventeen  years,  the 
son  of  a  friend,  called,  at  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  request, 
to  see  him.  '  I  have  sent  for  you,  my  son,'  said  he. 
'  I  want  you  to  see  how  a  Christian  can  di«.  I  have 
been  all  my  life  in  fear  of  that  hour,  and  yet  for  seven 
weeks  I  have  seen  death  day  by  day  approaching,  and 
never  was  calmer.  Did  you  ever  see  me  more  calm  ?' 
^Receiving  no  answer,  he  repeated  the  question,  and 
then  receiving  a  reply  in  the  negative,  continued, 
'  Now,  my  son,  do  not  despise  parents'  prayers,  moth- 
ers' tears,  and  sisters'  supplications,  but  turn  unto  God. 
Now  is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation. 
Seek  the  Lord,  and  you  will  find  Him ;  despise  Him, 
and  He  is  a  consuming  fire.  He  has  not  come  away 
from  heaven  and  died  upon  earth  to  be  lightly  reject- 
ed. I  have  here  a  little  keepsake  for  you ;  it  is  the 
Bible  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  published  by  the 
American  Bible  Society.  I  don't  want  to  exact  from 
you  a  rigorous  promise,  but  I  do  want  you  to  say  that, 
by  God's  grace,  you  will  try  to  do  what  I  have  done. 
For  fifty — no,  forty -five  years,  I  have  made  it  a  rule, 
at  noon,  or  as  near  to  it  as  I  could  —  perhaps  there 
would  not  be  an  opportunity  before  tea-time — to  read 
a  chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  spend  fifteen  minutes  in 
private  devotion.  My  son,  farewell.  Go  now,  and 
seek  God's  grace.' 

"On  one  occasion,  when  he  seemed  to  suffer, I  asked 
what  it  was  that  troubled  him.     He  replied, '  When  I 


262  LIFE   OF   FRELINGHUYSEN. 

was  a  bo  J,  I  went  to  see  Grandma  Hardenberg  when 
she  was  sick,  and  asked  her  how  she  did,  and  she  said 
to  me,  "  Schilde,  I  want  to  go  home,  and  they  won't 
let  me."  '  With  that  anecdote,  he  seemed  to  consider 
that  my  inquiry  as  to  what  troubled  him  was  an- 
swered. 

"  At  another  time,  one  present  said  to  him  that  he 
had  been  enabled  to  do  much  good  in  life,  and  that 
should  be  a  comfort  to  him  now.  And  then  was  read 
to  him  that  part  of  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew's Gospel,  in  which  the  King  is  represented  as 
saying  to  those  on  his  right  hand,  '  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  For  I  was  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  drink,'  etc.,  etc.  But  he  said  that  his  only 
plea  was, '  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'  When  re- 
minded that  those  on  the  right  hand  used  the  same 
language,  saying,  '  When  saw  we  Thee  an  hungered, 
and  fed  Thee?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  Thee  drink?'  etc., 
he  made  no  reply,  but  shook  his  head.  He  took  much 
pleasure  in  listening  to  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal 
Son,  recorded  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Luke. 

"  The  attending  physician  came  into  the  room  at  a 
time  when  he  was  very  low,  and  he  said,  *  This,  I  think, 
doctor,  is  my  last  struggle ;  and  it  is  all  peace — Christ 
is  precious.'  The  doctor  replied  that  we  could  do 
nothing  without  Christ.  '  Yes,'  said  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen, '  I  often  said  that,  but  did  not  realize  it.  Now  I 
feel  it.  Christ  has  opened  to  me  the  truth.  If  there 
had  been  no  sin,  we  should  not  have  known  how  gra- 
cious God  is.' 

"  He  had,  during  the  last  week  of  his  life,  many  in- 
teresting interviews  which  I  have  not  referred  to.  He 
suffered  but  little.  His  mind  was  perfectly  uncloud- 
ed. He  made  every  arrangement  for  his  departure. 
He  spent  hours  in  endeavoring  to  reconcile  his  true 
wife  to  their  separation.     He  frequently  through  the 


CLOSING  SCENE.  263 

day  asked  that  a  short  prayer  might  be  offered.    His 
faith  was  firm  and  confident. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  April  it  was  man- 
ifest that  he  was  sinking,  and  I,  who  had  so  often  en- 
deavored to  cheer  him  when  he  was  desponding,  said, 
without  fear  of  alarming  him, '  You  can  live  but  a  lit- 
tle while  longer.  You  are  almost  gone.  You  may 
possibly  live  two  or  three  hours,  but  probably  not  so 
long.'  He  asked  if  that  was  the  opinion  of  the  phy- 
sicians. I  told  him  that  it  was.  He  then  took  leave 
of  the  family  and  friends.  The  physician  to  whom  I 
have  referred  as  benefited  when  an  orphan  by  him, 
and  myself,  kissed  him  farewell.  I  then  asked  him, 
'Is  it  peace  with  you  now?'  He  answered,  'All 
peace,  more  than  ever  before.'  Shortly  afterward  he 
expired.  '  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  up- 
right, for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace.'  " 


264  LIFE   OF   FRELmGHUySElSr. 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Gift  of  God.— Mr.  Frelingliuysen's  Completeness  of  Character.— 
General  Recognition  of  it.— Proven  by  Trial. — Theme  of  Gratitude 
to  God. — Encouragement  to  others. — A  Proof  of  Christianity.— 
An  Example  of  cheerful  Piety. — Its  fundamental  and  characteris- 
tic Element. 

At  a  large  meeting  held  in  1844  to  ratify  the  Whig 
nominations  for  national  offices,  Governor  Lumpkin, 
of  Greorgia,  pleasantly  played  upon  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's  Christian  name,  Theodore,  which,  according  to 
its  origin,  means  gift  of  God,  saying  that  this  eminent 
Christian  statesman  was  Grod's  gift  to  the  nation  for 
the  office  of  Vice-president.  The  result  showed  that 
this  was  an  error,  the  fond  anticipation  of  a  political 
and  personal  friend,  who  thought  that  one  who  com- 
bined so  many  excellencies  of  character  could  not  be 
defeated  if  fairly  brought  before  the  popular  eye. 
Still  the  playful  suggestion  had  an  element  of  truth, 
although  in  a  diffi^rent  application  from  that  which 
the  eminent  civilian  who  made  it  intended,  Theo- 
dore Frelinghuysen  was  the  gift  of  God  to  the  Amer- 
ican people  ;  not  for  the  temporary  occupation  of  any 
office,  however  dignified  or  important,  nor  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  any  civil  or  secular  aims,  however 
lofty,  but  for  a  bright  and  shining  example  of  the 
thorough  and  consistent  Christian  in  all  the  walks  of 
life,  public  and  private. 


CONCLUSION.  265 

There  are  many  blameless  believers  on  earth,  of 
■whom  the  world  is  not  worthy,  but  they  are  usually 
found  either  in  the  ministry  or  in  private  life ;  but 
here  was  a  man  whose  necessary  avocations  led  him 
into  the  whirl  of  business  and  politics,  who  was  thrown 
into  contact  with  all  classes  of  society,  who  passed 
through  prolonged  scenes  of  the  highest  excitement, 
who  took  his  full  share  of  the  duties  devolving  upon 
educated  and  professional  men  under  the  popular  in- 
stitutions of  our  country,  and  yet  never  once  abated 
from  the  strictness  of  a  holy  life,  never  once  gave  oc- 
casion for  unfriendly  observers  to  bring  a  charge  of 
inconsistency.  Not  that  he  was,  or  claimed  to  be,  per- 
fect ;  he  had  infirmities,  as  he  himself  was  painfully 
conscious,  both  while  he  lived  and  when  he  came  to 
die ;  but  all  who  knew  him  would,  with  one  voice,  de- 
clare that  they  never  saw  the  man  who  had  so  few. 

His  life  was  long,  extending  several  years  beyond 
the  ordinary  limit.  It  was,  for  the  most  part,  a  very 
active  one^  spent  in  arduous  and  engrossing  employ- 
ments. It  was  varied,  leading  him  into  many  differ- 
ent circumstances  and  associations ;  yet  throughout 
it  was  the  life  of  "  a  good  man  and  a  just,"  He  was 
not  excellent  at  one  time  or  in  one  relation  only,  but 
at  all  times  and  in  every  relation.  Intimate  friends, 
casual  acquaintances,  and  those  who  knew  him  only 
by  observation,  all  had  but  one  opinion  respecting 
him.  His  prominent  connection  with  great  enter- 
prises in  which  Christians  at  large  took  a  deep  inter- 
est, rendered  his  name  familiar  to  all  the  people  of 
God  in  this  land,  and  multitudes  who  never  saw  his 
face  in  the  flesh  looked  up  to  him  with  affectionate 

M 


266  LIFE   OF   FKELINGHUYSEN. 

reverence  as  a  tried  and  chosen  leader  of  the  sacra- 
mental host.  They  mourned  his  death  as  a  public  ca- 
lamity, and  felt  the  stroke  as  keenly  as  if  it  were  a 
personal  bereavement.  The  keenness  of  their  regret 
was  not  owing  to  their  lack  of  full  information  on  the 
subject ;  he  for  whose  removal  they  sorrowed  was 
one  who  did  not  loom  largest  when  seen  at  a  distance, 
but  was  more  highly  appreciated  the  longer  and  bet- 
ter he  was  known.  Lofty  as  the  figure  seemed  when 
seen  through  the  mists  of  current  reports,  it  lost  none 
of  its  stately  proportions  when  viewed  standing  in  the 
clear  sunlight  of  close  personal  knowledge.  Perhaps 
there  were  no  more  hearty  admirers  of  his  character 
than  the  friends  of  his  boyhood,  residing  in  his  native 
county,  who  had  watched  his  career  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end.  One  of  these  was  present  at  his  fu- 
neral, and  heard  the  just  and  touching  eulogy  pro- 
nounced over  the  remains  of  the  deceased  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  De  Witt ;  but,  after  the  services  were  over,  he  ex- 
claimed, with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "All  that  the  speaker 
said  was  true,  but  oh !  he  did  not  tell  the  half;  it  is 
only  we  who  have  seen  that  man  at  home  in  his  every- 
day life  who  know  his  real  worth." 

That  worth  was  not  a  mere  negative  excellence ;  it 
was  not  simply  the  absence  of  common  faults,  but  the 
possession  of  rare  virtues  exercised  for  a  great  length 
of  time,  and  amid  manifold  and  searching  temptations. 
The  more  the  gold  was  tried,  the  purer  it  was  found. 
He  passed  through  the  furnace  of  political  life  at  the 
national  capital,  and  came  out  without  even  the  smell 
of  fire  upon  him.  Boy  and  man,  advocate  and  sena- 
tor, chancellor   and  president,  church  member  and 


CONCLUSION.  267 

churcli  officer,  citizen  and  Cliristian,  he  bore  his  facul- 
ties so  meeklj,  and  discharged  his  duties  so  faithfully, 
that  even  the  breath  of  slander  never  tarnished  his  es- 
cutcheon. There  is  nothing  in  his  course  or  charac- 
ter which  needs  excuse  or  even  explanation.  The  en- 
tire career  speaks  for  itself.  Men  might  differ  from 
him  in  political  opinions,  in  religious  belief,  or  in  mi- 
nor questions,  but  none  ever  doubted  the  solid  integ- 
rity of  his  principles,  or  the  perfect  conscientiousness 
of  his  life. 

Many  men  have  been  quite  as  distinguished  as  he 
in  professional  and  political  life ;  many,  too,  have  been 
just  as  eminent  for  Christian  consistency,  but  very 
few,  if  any,  have  ever  united  the  two  kinds  of  distinc- 
tion so  thoroughly  and  successfully.  As  a  civilian, 
statesman,  and  patriot,  he  did  his  full  duty  on  the 
earth,  yet  held  perpetual  communion  with  God  in 
heaven.  He  commanded  respect  by  his  intellectual 
gifts  and  attainments,  yet  won  universal  love  and  con- 
fidence by  his  meekness  of  wisdom.  True  to  his  cli- 
ents, to  his  party,  and  to  his  country,  he  was  also  true 
to  the  Gospel  and  the  Cross  in  every  situation.  He 
was  not  a  different  man  at  different  times,  combining, 
as  it  were,  by  mechanical  cohesion,  two  opposite 
spheres  of  character  and  conduct — in  one  company  or 
place  the  zealous  Christian,  in  another  the  busy  poli- 
tician or  lawyer ;  but  his  religious  faith  interpenetrated 
his  whole  life,  and  gave  to  it  its  characteristic  tone. 
He  was  just  as  much  a  Christian  in  the  court-room,  or 
on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  or  at  the  hustings,  as  in  his 
closet,  or  the  Sunday  -  school,  or  a  prayer  -  meeting. 
"While  never  parading,  he  never  cloaked  his  convic- 


268  LIFE  OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

tions.  Instead  of  being  held  loosely,  they  were  a  part 
of  himself,  and  could  not  be  hid.  Wherever  he  went, 
whatever  he  did,  an  exquisite  combination  of  justice 
and  goodness,  of  intelligence  and  meekness,  of  wisdom 
and  love, 

Eose  like  a  steam  of  rich  distilled  perfumes, 

And  stole  upon  the  air. 

Such  a  life  as  the  preceding  pages  have  imperfectly 
unfolded  calls  for  profound  gratitude  to  Him  who  has 
been  pleased  in  our  generation  to  erect  such  a  pre- 
cious memorial  of  the  ennobling  and  sanctifying  pow- 
er of  His  heavenly  grace.  An  eminently  good  man,  in 
any  relation  of  life,  is  a  great  gift  of  God  to  those  who 
behold  the  rays  of  the  burning  and  shining  light ;  but 
especially  is  this  the  case  when  the  good  man  lives 
long,  has  wide  influence,  is  extensively  known,  passes 
through  trial  and  temptation,  is  uniformly  consistent, 
is  destitute  of  eccentricities,  is  actively  useful  as  well 
as  passively  blameless,  mingles  in  public  and  promi- 
nent scenes,  avoids  even  the  appearance  of  evil,  and 
perseveres  to  the  very  end — that  end  fitly  crowning 
the  work.  Such  was  Theodore  Frelinghuysen ;  and 
what  he  was  God  made  him.  Providence  did  much 
for  him  in  bestowing  his  fine  bodily  presence,  his 
plaintive  but  melodious  voice,  his  penetration  and  sa- 
gacity, his  dignified  station,  his  winning  personal  ad- 
dress ;  but  grace  wrought  far  more  in  moulding  such 
an  elevated  Christian  character,  so  spiritual,  humble, 
and  uniform,  so  sweetly  blending  the  virtues  of  con- 
templation and  of  action,  so  full  of  love  to  God  and 
love  to  man,  so  prominent  in  the  features  which  are 


coNCLUSioisr.  269 

distinctively  evangelical,  so  complete  and  harmonious 
in  outline  and  detail. 

Such  a  life  is  full  of  encouragement  and  stimulus  to 
all  the  children  of  God.  It  presents  an  exalted  pic- 
ture of  human  excellence,  yet  one  exactly  propor- 
tioned to  the  means  and  agencies  employed.  Al- 
though far  exceeding  the  ordinary  standard  of  believ- 
ers, it  does  not  transcend  what  they  are  taught  to  aim 
at  and  expect.  Given  in  any  case  the  same  habits  of 
faith,  conscientiousness,  and  prayer,  the  same  result 
might  be  looked  for,  modified  only  by  the  differences 
of  temperament  and  situation.  All  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's  natural  advantages  in  constitution,  birth,  train- 
ing, and  position,  would  have  amounted  to  but  little 
but  for  the  grace  which  was  given  him.  It  was  this 
rich  grace,  so  perseveringly  sought,  so  largely  received, 
and  so  carefully  cherished,  which  made  him  what  he 
was.  This  was  his  own  life-long  profession,  sealed 
and  confirmed  over  and  over  as  he  lay  upon  his  death- 
bed. That  grace  has  not  exhausted  its  stores  ;  there 
is  enough  yet  to  advance  the  whole  Church  perma- 
nently to  the  high  position  held  by  him,  who,  when 
he  died,  left  behind  him  no  equal  in  the  completeness 
of  his  Christian  character.  If  any  fall  short,  it  is  not 
because  they  are  straitened  in  God,  but  because  of 
their  own  remissness. 

To  unbelievers  in  the  Christian  religion,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  life  presents  an  insoluble  problem.  His 
lofty  and  stainless  integrity  was,  as  has  been  said,  ac- 
knowledged universally.  There  is  literally  no  dis- 
senting voice.  No  public  man  has  ever  lived  in  this 
country  respecting  whom  so  many  persons  would 


270  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

unite  in  saying  that  they  never  knew  any  one  wlio  so 
nearly  approached  perfection  in  all  the  relations  of 
life  as  he ;  yet  this  man  habitually  ascribed  whatever 
excellence  he  was  enabled  to  exhibit  to  the  Gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God.  Nor  was  this  mere  prejudice,  or 
the  force  of  education,  or  the  result  of  fanatical  excite- 
ment, but  the  conviction  of  a  mind  eminently  cool, 
cautious,  and  collected,  accustomed  to  weighing  evi- 
dence, wont  to  take  comprehensive  views  of  things, 
and  always  swayed  by  what  appeared  to  be  the  truth. 
If,  then,  he  made  no  mistake  in  the  matter — and  mis- 
take is  hardly  possible  in  the  circumstances — his  life 
was  a  genuine  product  of  Christianity,  and  the  fruit, 
according  to  an  invariable  law,  testifies  to  the  character 
of  the  tree  which  bears  it.  A  baseless  system  could 
not  have  produced  such  an  illustrious  example  of  pub- 
lic and  private  virtue.  Whether  Christianity  be  deem- 
ed a  delusion,  or  an  imposture,  or  a  gradual  hardening 
of  mythical  elements  into  a  fixed  belief,  it  must  have 
lacked  the  power  to  shape  a  character  so  pure,  com- 
plete, and  rounded.  The  guiding  principle  would 
have  betrayed  its  own  defects  by  corresponding  de- 
fects marked  and  manifest  somewhere  in  the  product ; 
but  none  such  are  to  be  seen.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
infirmities  were  either  constitutional,  and,  as  such,  held 
under  a  control  which  was  only  not  constant  and  ha- 
bitual, or  they  were  an  excess  of  those  Christian  virtues 
which  are  most  difficult  of  attainment.  The  question 
therefore  remains.  How  could  a  system  of  faith  and 
practice,  cordially  and  intelligently  embraced,  lead  to 
such  a  spotless  life  and  character  amid  every  variety 
of  temptation,  unless  it  were  from  God  ? 

To  those  who  identify  godliness  and  gloom — who 


CONCLUSION.  271 

confound  Christian  seriousness  with  austerity  and  mel- 
ancholy, the  life  described  in  this  volume  administers 
a  pointed  rebuke.  Here  was  a  man  whose  conscien- 
tiousness was  unequaled  in  any  generation  of  believ- 
ers— whose  abstinence  from  the  pleasures  of  sin  was 
complete  and  life-long — whose  religious  convictions 
were  so  intense  and  pervading  as  to  shape  his  whole 
life,  and  yet  no  one  of  his  contemporaries  enjoyed  so 
much  happiness  as  he.  Nor  is  reference  had  here 
simply  to  the  joy  of  communion  with  God,  or  to  that 
which  springs  directly  from  spiritual  duties  and  priv- 
ileges— although,  in  his  case,  both  of  these  were  great 
— but  to  the  ordinary  kinds  and  sources  of  pleasure  in 
common  life.  In  all  domestic  and  social  scenes,  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  was  happy  himself,  and  the '  source  of 
happiness  to  every  one  around  him.  In  consequence 
of  his  sensitive  organization,  and  of  occasional  attacks 
of  a  depressing  disease,  there  were  times  when  his  face 
was  clouded.  But  these  were  exceptions.  In  the  gen- 
eral, he  entered  with  a  keen  zest  into  every  form  and 
scene  of  rational  enjoy mentr. 

Even  his  habitual  dread  of  death,  and  the  constant 
apprehension  of  unfitness  for  the  judgment  which  he 
unfortunately  and  mistakenly  cherished,  could  not 
break  the  spring  of  his  character  or  chill  the  warm 
current  of  his  social  impulses.  His  manly  sense  re- 
jected asceticism  in  every  form.  He  believed  that 
godliness  had  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is  as 
well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come,  and  he  showed  his 
faith  by  his  works.  Cheerfulness  without  levity,  wit 
without  coarseness,  familiarity  without  rudeness,  gave 
an  additional  charm  to  his  generous  table,  and  made 
his  society  a  coveted  possession  to  persons  of  all  ages 


272  LIFE   OF  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

and  classes.  His  piety,  instead  of  quenching  his  nat- 
ural tendency  to  mirth,  only  purified  and  increased  it. 
It  remains  only  to  add  a  few  words  respecting  what 
was  the  fundamental  element  in  this  remarkable  ca- 
reer. There  is  no  possibility  of  mistake  upon  this 
point.  It  was  so  constantly  avowed,  on  proper  occa- 
sions, by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen — it  shone  out  so  clearly 
in  his  speeches,  letters,  conversations,  and  prayers — it 
did  so  much  toward  the  shaping  of  his  outward  course 
— it  entered  so  deeply  and  pervadingly  into  his  relig- 
ious experience,  that  all  other  influences  must  be 
deemed  subordinate  or  auxiliary.  This  was  his  sim- 
ple and  absolute  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 
With  this  he  began  his  career  in  the  morning  of  life, 
and  with  this  he  ended  it  amid  the  gathering  shades 
of  the  dark  valley.  He  never  seemed  for  a  moment 
to  rest  upon  his  virtues,  services,  or  honors,  upon  any 
thing  which  grace  had  enabled  him  to  be  or  to  do, 
but  always  and  only  upon  the  finished  work  of  the 
one  atoning  Savior  who'  had  loved  him  and  given 
Himself  for  him.  The  revelation  which  Scripture 
makes  of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  as  living,  dying, 
rising,  and  reigning  for  the  salvation  of  His  people, 
fully  satisfied  his  reason,  his  heart,  and  his  conscience. 
He  rested  here  with  a  conviction  which  nothing  could 
shake.  Whatever  excursions  he  might  make  in  the 
wide  range  of  religious  inquiry — whatever  attention 
he  bestowed  upon  the  Christian  evidences,  he  always 
came  back  to  the  one  common  foundation  of  all  just 
and  certain  hope  for  the  fallen  children  of  men.  He 
was  a  sinner  and  Christ  was  a  Savior,  and  with  his 
whole  heart  he  believed  in  Him  as  such. 


CONCLUSION.  273 

This  faitli  made  him  what  he  was.    It  was  the  great 
granite  foundation  underlying  all  else  that  was  true, 
and  just,  and  pure,  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report  in 
his  whole   development.     It  gave   the   tone  to  his 
thoughts  and  aspirations,  to  his  domestic  and  social 
life,  to  his  private  charities  and  public  usefulness,  to 
his  constant  shrinking  from  self-  assertion,  and  yet 
equally  constant  endeavor  to  win  others  to  his  own 
happy  experience  of  Christ's  preciousness,  to  his  im- 
movable adherence  to  principle,  and  yet  graceful  and 
easy  concession  in  things  indifferent.    Believing  as  he 
did  in  all  Scripture  truth,  his  faith  fastened  itself  with 
a  peculiar  intensity  upon  Him  who  is  its  sum  and  sub- 
stance— upon  Him  who,  as  a  personal  Savior,  by  His 
great  act  of  condescension  and  love,  sheds  a  new  sanc- 
tity upon  every  duty,  and  invests  every  privilege  with 
a  fresh  attractiveness.     To  his  mind  Christ  was  first, 
last,  and  midst,  in  all  theology,  in  all  experience,  in 
all  hope.     To  Him  his  mind,  as  it  were,  instinctively 
turned  from  every  pursuit,  in  every  temptation,  sor- 
row, or  perplexity.     The  "Blood  Theology,"  which  { 
to  some  is  so  repulsive,  to  him  was  the  perfection  of  ■ 
reason,  the  glory  of  the  Scriptures,  the  last  result  of 
God's  manifold  wisdom  and  grace.     His  faith  in  it  \ 
never  wavered.     To  the  end  it  was  Christ  and  Him  ' 
crucified  to  whom  he  looked  for  pardon,  peace,  holi- 
ness, and  life  everlasting.     This  Jaith  controlled  him 
while  he  lived  and  sustained  him  when  he  died.    Nor 
did  it  cease  its  operation  until  the  happy  period  when, 
having  passed  the  dark  river,  to  use  his  own  sweet 
words,  he  laid  his   aching  head  upon  the  Savior's 
breast,  and  thanked  Him  for  all  His  mercies. 
M2 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  sketches  of  the  two  brothers  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
and  of  his  oldest  sister,  are  appended  here  chiefly  because  of  the  in- 
fluence which  all  of  them  exerted  upon  his  character,  and  also  be- 
cause not  a  few  of  the  persons  into  whose  hands  this  book  is  likely  to 
fall  will  be  gratified  with  even  a  rapid  outline  of  those  whose  memo- 
ry, on  various  accounts,  is  precious  to  them. 

"Oh !  bless'd  are  they  who  live  and  die  like  these, 
Loved  with  such  love,  and  with  such  sorrow  mourned !" 

I.  JOHN  FRELINGHUYSEN,  ESQ. 

John,  the  eldest  son  of  General  Frederick  Frelinghuyscn,  was  born 
March  21, 1776,  near  Millstone,  N.  J.  His  infancy  was  spent  amid 
the  clash  of  arms  on  the  battle-field  of  the  Revolution,  and  his  youth 
under  the  languor  which  pervaded  the  whole  country  upon  the  con- 
clusion of  peace  and  until  the  national  government  was  firmly  estab- 
lished. He  was,  however,  enabled  to  receive  sufficient  instruction  to 
fit  him  for  entering  Queen's  College,  New  Brunswick,  then  under  the 
direction  of  its  first  president,  the  Kev.  Dr.  Hardenbergh.  He  was 
graduated  in  the  year  1792,  and  immediately  entered  upon  the  study 
of  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1797,  and  in  the  same  year 
was  married  to  Louisa,  daughter  of  Archibald  Mercer,  Esq.,  then  re- 
siding at  what  is  now  called  Blackwell's  Mills.  In  1801  he  purchased 
the  estate  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  family ;  but  a  few 
years  later,  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father,  he  returned  to  Millstone, 
where  "he  took  the  charge  of  his  father's  family,  and  superintended 
the  studies  of  his  two  younger  brothers.  Here  he  was  bereaved  of 
his  wife,  who  died,  after  a  short  illness,  in  March,  1809.  She  had 
been  a  great  blessing  to  him,  especially  in  the  formation  of  his  relig- 
ious character. 

In  1810  he  returned  to  his  own  property  near  the  county  seat,  and 
the  next  year  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Mercereau,  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Michael  Van  Veghten,  Esq. 

Owing  to  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  public  speaking,  he  figured 


276  APPENDIX. 

but  little  in  pleading  before  the  courts,  but  in  the  quieter  branches 
of  the  profession  pursued  a  large  and  profitable  practice.  For  a 
number  of  years  in  succession  he  represented  his  native  county  as 
member  of  the  State  Council,  and  afterward  was  appointed  suito- 
gate  of  the  county  for  three  consecutive  terms  of  five  years  each.  His 
capacity  and  integrity  caused  him  very  often  to  be  made  the  executor 
of  the  estates  of  deceased  persons,  and  these  trusts  were  always  ad- 
ministered by  him  with  the  strictest  care,  probity,  and  honor.  Wlien 
he  lay  upon  his  dying-bed,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "This  property  will 
remain  in  your  and  the  children's  possession,  for  none  of  it  has  ever 
been  taken  from  the  widow  and  the  orphan — these  I  have  never 
wronged — but  all  is  the  fruit  of  my  own  honest  toil." 

He  inherited  from  his  father  a  taste  and  a  fitness  for  military  life. 
At  the  time  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  he  was  for  several 
months  encamped  with  a  regiment  of  the  New  Jersey  militia,  which 
he  commanded,  at  Sandy  Hook,  with  the  view  of  preventing  the  ene- 
my's vessels  from  passing  up  the  bay  to  attack  New  York.  No  such 
attempt  was  seriously  made ;  but  the  soldiers  on  service  at  the  Hook 
were  considered  to  have  been  instrumental  in  deterring  the  hostile 
squadron  from  any  near  approach.  After  the  war,  Mr.  Frclinghuysen 
was  made  a  brigadier  general,  by  which  title  he  was  usually  known 
and  addressed.  He  was  naturally  adapted  to  be  a  successful  milita- 
ry leader,  for  he  had  a  quick  eye,  a  clear  head,  a  rapid  decision,  a 
sound  judgment,  a  strong  will,  and  invincible  courage.  He  seemed 
to  be  quite  insensible  to  fear.  At  one  time  there  was,  in  the  county 
of  Somerset,  a  resident  who,  having  become  heavily  involved  in  pe- 
cuniary embarrassments,  and  being  threatened  with  legal  process, 
shut  himself  up  in  his  house  with  loaded  arms,  and  declared  that  he 
would  shoot  any  person  who  attempted  to  serve  a  warrant  on  him. 
As  the  man  was  known  to  be  of  very  determined  character,  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  find  any  one  willing  to  approach  the  house.  General  Fre- 
linghnysen,  on  being  informed  of  the  fact,  took  the  paper  and  de- 
clared that  he  would  serve  it.  As  he  came  near  the  dwelling,  its 
occupant  called  out  to  him  to  return,  or  he  would  fire.  "No  you 
won't,"  was  the  reply,  as  the  courageous  man  coolly  continued  his 
course  until  he  reached  the  door,  when  he  made  legal  service  of  the 
paper. 

His  first  serious  convictions  on  religious  matters  seem  to  have  been 
jiroduced  by  the  conversion  of  his  first  wife.  After  a  considerable 
struggle  with  himself,  he  was  led  to  make  a  public  profession  of  his 
faith  while  yet  residing  at  Millstone.  Being  naturally  of  a  some- 
what imperious  disposition,  it  was  not  easy  for  liim  to  cultivate  the 
peculiarly  Christian  graces  of  lowliness,  meekness,  and  patience,  yet 


JOHN   FRELINGHUYSEISr.  277 

he  did  so  with  wonderful  success.  He  feared  God  above  many.  If 
ever  he  fell  through  infirmitj',  his  penitence  and  self-abasement  were 
deep  and  earnest,  and  he  sought  anew  pardon  and  peace  from  the 
ever-flowing  fountain  of  the  Savior's  blood.  He  was  a  bold  and  de- 
cided Christian.  The  courage  which  was  a  part  of  his  natural  consti- 
tution gave  tone  to  his  religious  life.  In  every  relation,  and  among 
every  class  of  persons,  he  acted  up  to  his  professed  principles,  some- 
times pushing  his  consistency  to  an  unusual  degree.  For  example, 
he  felt  that  every  believer  should  not  only  himself  sanctify  the  Lord's 
day,  but  labor  for  its  observance  by  others.  He  was  known  frequent- 
ly to  arrest  travelers  on  the  post-road,  in  front  of  his  dwelling,  who 
violated  the  law  of  the  land  by  journeying  on  the  Lord's  day.  If 
they  declared  their  inability  to  bear  the  expense  of  lying  by  until 
Monday,  he  would  assume  that  expense  himself.  While  on  service 
at  Sandy  Hook,  he  frequently  conducted  public  service  at  the  head 
of  his  regiment,  and  used  every  opportunity  to  enforce  the  claims  of 
personal  religion  upon  the  men.  After  the  war,  many  letters  were 
received  by  him  from  persons  desiring  to  acknowledge  the  benefit  they 
derived  from  these  appeals,  and  to  express  their  thanks  to  him. 

He  was  a  man  of  large  heart,  and  devised  liberal  things.  Pleas- 
ant, affable,  social,  he  was  far  from  being  an  anchorite,  but  enjoyed 
life  abundantly.  Yet  he  thought  continually  for  others.  Hand  and 
heart  were  open  to  the  poor  or  afflicted ;  and  it  was  his  constant  study 
not  only  to  provide  for  temporal  wants,  but  equally  to  provide  the 
means  of  grace  for  the  destitute,  and,  so  far  as  lay  in  his  power,  to  se- 
cure the  due  improvement  of  those  means. 

In  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  he  was  cut  off  by  a  bilious  fever  on 
the  10th  of  April,  1833. 

A  gentleman,  who  was  for  many  years  a  leading  member  of  the  bar 
of  Somerset  County,  has  kindly  furnished  the  author  with  the  follow- 
ing notice  of  General  Frelinghuysen  : 

"  My  acquaintance  with  the  late  General  John  Frelinghuysen  com- 
menced in  1814,  and  ended  only  with  his  death.  We  were  neigh- 
bors, members  of  the  same  Church,  and  often  associated  in  business 
transactions.  These  opportunities  of  knowing  the  man  only  made 
me  esteem  him  the  more  highly  in  every  relation  of  life.  I  know  of 
no  good  quality,  as  a  man  or  a  Christian,  which  he  did  not  possess  in 
an  eminent  degree. 

"He  was  a  man  of  great  business  tact,  a  skillful  and  accurate  ac- 
countant, prompt  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  systematic  in  his  arrange- 
ments, and  punctual  to  every  engagement.  Being  very  popular  in 
the  community,  and  enjoying  the  confidence  of  every  one,  he  became 
extensively  occupied  in  public  affairs,  and  held,  in  turn  or  together. 


278  APPENDIX. 

nearly  every  county  office.  As  executor,  administrator,  guardian,  or 
trustee,  he  handled  more  money  than  any  other  five  men  in  tlie  coun- 
ty, and  never  was  there  even  a  whisper  of  complaint  as  to  his  man- 
agement of  these  ti-usts. 

"He  inherited  from  his  revolutionary  father  a  strong  love  for  his 
country  aiid  its  republican  institutions.  When  called  to  serve  in  the 
field  during  the  war  of  1812,  he  took  a  very  high  position  for  cour- 
age, capacity,  and  self-sacrificing  patriotism.  His  care  of  his  regi- 
ment was  unequalcd.  The  sick  soldier  was  sheltered  in  his  tent  and 
ate  at  his  table ;  and  when,  by  the  neglect  of  others,  the  supplies  of 
food  for  the  regiment  were  inadequate  in  quantity  or  quality,  he  free- 
ly used  his  own  means  to  relieve  their  wants,  even  going  so  far  as  to 
embarrass  his  estate  for  this  purpose. 

"  He  was  a  man  of  profound  and  ardent  pietJ^  This  shone  out 
on  all  occasions.  Without  any  seeming  effort  on  his  part  to  produce 
such  an  impression,  no  one  could  be  in  his  company,  even  for  a  short 
time,  without  feeling  that  he  was  a  sincere  and  earnest  Christian  ;  yet 
he  was  humble  and  unostentatious.  In  the  Church  he  was  esteemed 
as  a  pillar.  He  was  active  in  every  good  work,  a  devout  attendant 
upon  ordinances,  a  constant  friend  and  liberal  suppoi'ter  of  the  min- 
ister, fond  of  the  social  prayer-meeting — which  he  usually  conducted, 
and  where  his  prayers  seemed  to  be  offered  in  the  very  presence  of 
God  and  eternity — ever  ready  to  contribute  to  benevolent  associations, 
prompt  to  rebuke  open  sin,  to  warn  impenitent  persons,  or  soothe  and 
comfort  the  afflicted.  In  the  councils  of  the  Church,  his  opinions 
were  always  looked  for  with  interest  and  received  with  respect.  The 
poor  of  every  class  looked  upon  him  as  their  counselor  and  friend, 
and  he  spared  no  pains  to  administer  promptly  and  efficiently  to  their 
relief  in  things  spiritual  and  temporal. 

"Indeed,  considering  General  Frelinghuysen's  activity,  consistency, 
and  uniform  excellence  in  so  many  varied  relations,  it  may  with  truth 
be  said  that  he  was  a  public  benefactor.  The  place  made  vacant  in 
the  county  of  Somerset  by  his  death  has  never  been  filled,  and  will 
not  be  for  a  century." 

II.  MAEIA  PRELINGHUYSEN, 

Wlrf  OP   TITE  EEV.  JOHN   COBNELL. 

Maria,  the  first  daughter  and  second  child  of  General  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  was  born  in  March,  1778.  When  about  twenty  years 
of  age  she  was  married  to  the  Rev.  John  Cornell,  a  young  clergyman, 
who,  after  studying  for  a  time  in  the  famous  Log  College  at  Nesha- 
miny,Pcnn.,  entered  Queen's  College  at  New  Bmnswick,  where  he 


MRS.  CORNELL.  279 

completed  his  course  in  the  yeai-  1795.  He  then  pursued  the  study 
of  theology  under  Dr.  Livingston,  at  Flatbush,  L.  I.,  and  was  licensed 
to  preach  about  the  year  1798.  After  performing  missionary  service 
for  a  year  or  two,  he  was  called  to  the  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Allentown,  N.  J.  Here  he  remained  for  twenty  years,  a 
laborious,  faithful,  and  successful  pastor.  Afterward  he  for  seven 
years  conducted  the  Classical  Academy  at  Somerville,  and  then  (in 
1828),  induced  by  the  state  of  his  health,  retired  to  the  homestead  of 
his  wife's  family  near  Millstone,  at  that  time  in  the  possession  of  her 
brother  Theodore.  Here  Mrs.  Cornell  ended  her  days  on  earth,  in 
]\Lirch,  1832. 

Mrs.  Cornell  was  a  remarkable  woman  for  vigor  of  mind,  intelli- 
gent piety,  persistent  charity,  and  practical  usefulness.  She  united 
thought,  reading,  and  conversational  gifts  with  the  diligent  discharge 
of  every  domestic  duty,  in  this  latter  respect  resembling  more  than  is 
common  in  our  day  the  picture  of  the  virtuous  woman  drawn  in  the 
closing  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  She  was  an  admirable 
lielpmeet  to  her  husband  in  his  pastoral  office  ;  and,  wherever  she  re- 
sided, secured  the  unbounded  respect  and  affection  of  the  communi- 
ty. Her  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  temperance  is  worthy  of  espe- 
cial note.  Long  before  there  was  any  public  or  general  agitation  of 
the  subject,  and  while  the  decanter  was  invariably  to  be  found  on  ev- 
ery hospitable  sideboard,  ardent  spirits  were  banished  from  her  house, 
and  her  whole  influence  thrown  on  the  side  of  total  abstinence. 
There  is  still  in  existence  the  "  Constitution  Book,"  as  it  is  called,  of 
an  association  established  at  Allentown  in  the  year  1805,  under  the 
name  of  the  "Sober  Society,"  with  fifty-eight  signatures  attached,  in 
which  the  signers  pledge  themselves  to  abstain  from  all  use  of  ardent 
spirits  as  a  beverage.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  animating  spring, 
if  not  the  originator,  of  this  first  temperance  society  in  America  was 
Mrs.  Maria  Cornell. 

Being  nine  years  older  than  her  brother  Theodore,  she  naturally 
exerted  a  considerable  influence  over  him,  both  in  person,  while  he 
was  still  under  the  paternal  roof,  and  afterward  by  letter,  when  he 
was  pursuing  his  education,  collegiate  and  professional.  He  has  fre- 
quently been  known  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to  her  intelligent, 
judicious,  sisterly  affection,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hay,  Avrit- 
ten  in  1832, he  thus  expressed  himself  on  the  subject:  "I  have  sus- 
tained a  sore  bereavement  in  the  death  of  my  sister.  She  stood  in 
the  early  relation  of  a  mother  to  me.  I  was  deprived  of  my  mother 
at  six  years  of  age,  and  this  dearly-cherished  sister,  by  a  kind  Provi- 
i^dence,  was  ordained  to  fill  her  place,  which  she  did  most  tenderly  and 
faithfully.    I  bless  God  that  He  has  been  pleased  to  spare  her  to  us 


280  APPENDIX. 

so  long,  and  has  now  afforded  such  precious  assurances  in  her  life 
that  He  has  taken  her  to  His  own  holy  habitation." 

After  her  death,  which  occurred  March  13th,  1832,  there  appeared 
in  the  columns  of  the  Christian  Intelligencer  a  very  touching  obituary 
notice  from  the  pen  of  the  Hon.  Peter  D.Vroom.  Governor  Vroom 
bears  high  testimony  to  Mrs.  Cornell's  fidelity  as  a  wife  and  mother, 
to  her  unusual  excellencies  of  mind  and  heart,  to  her  boundless  char- 
ity, to  her  assiduous  ministrations  among  all  the  children  of  sorrow, 
to  her  intelligent  piety,  to  her  humble,  holy,  exemplary  life,  and  her 
calm,  peaceful  death. 

From  some  of  the  statements  made  in  this  notice,  it  would  appear 
that,  notwithstanding  her  consistent  walk,  she  was  exposed  to  seasons 
of  religious  darkness,  when  a  deep  sense  of  unworthiness  clouded  ev- 
ery prospect.  On  one  such  occasion  she  thus  expressed  herself  to  an 
intimate  friend :  "  I  am  sometimes  ready  to  conclude  all  past  experi- 
ence delusive.  And  what  then  ?  Shall  I  remain  satisfied,  and  give 
the  enemy  cause  to  triumph  and  the  world  to  reproach  ?  Oh  no ;  I 
will  not,  can  not  give  over  the  pursuit.  If  I  perish,  it  must  be  by  the 
Avay  of  tlie  Cross.  There,  and  there  only,  hang  all  my  expectations, 
all  my  desires."  In  mere  secular  sorrows  and  trials  her  faith  was 
triumphant;  in  the  worst  of  them  her  language  was,  "If  God  in  Christ 
is  the  portion  of  my  soul,  surely  I  may  rejoice  even  in  this  valley  of 
tears ;  and  although  billow  after  billow  may  be  commissioned  to  roll 
over  me,  still  will  I  rejoice.  He  can,  and  will  say,  '  Peace,  be  still,' 
whenever  the  design  of  His  providence  is  effected." 

III.  FREDERICK  FRELINGHUYSEN,  ESQ. 

Frederick,  the  fourth  child  and  youngest  son  of  General  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  was  born  at  the  family  homestead  at  Millstone  on  the 
8thof  November,  1788. 

He  received  the  rudimentary  elements  of  his  education  at  New 
Brunswick,  in  company  with  Theodore,  and  afterward  followed  him, 
at  the  interA'al  of  two  years,  in  the  academy  of  Basking  Ridge,  in  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  the  law  office  of  Richard  Stockton. 
He  was  graduated  at  Nassau  Hall  in  the  year  1806,  and  four  yeai's  sub- 
sequently was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  commenced  practice  in  Som- 
erset County,  fixing  his  residence  at  Millstone.  In  the  year  1812  he 
was  married  to  Jane,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Peter  B.  Dumont,  Esq., 
an  old  and  influential  citizen  ofthe  county.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  soon 
secured  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  which  a  few  years  after- 
ward was  greatly  enlarged  by  his  appointment  as  prosecutor  of  the  >J 
pleas  for  the  counties  of  Somerset,  Middlesex,  and  Hunterdon — an 


FREDERICK  FRELINGHUYSEN.  281 

appointment  which  he  continued  to  hold  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
During  this  time  he  formed  many  intimate  acquaintances  at  the  bar 
and  in  social  life,  but  none  which  ever  eclipsed  or  interfered  with  the 
close  ties  which  bound  him  to  his  brother  Theodore.  ' '  The  love  which 
these  brothers  had  for  each  other  was,  in  its  depth  and  warmth,  almost 
romantic.  Their  greatest  plcasin-e  was  to  be  together,  and  the  lively 
sallies  of  the  younger  brother  never  failed  to  dispel  the  depression  of 
spirits  to  which  Theodore  was  sometimes  subject.  The  period  of 
twelve  years,  extending  from  1808  to  1820,  was  spent  by  them  in  pro- 
fessional life,  but  they  were  all  the  while  framing  pleasant  excuses 
and  urgent  reasons  why  Theodore  should  go  to  Millstone  or  Freder- 
ick come  to  Newark.  Were  they  to  go  to  court,  one  must  go  by  the 
house  of  the  other,  to  enjoy  as  quickly,  and  continue  as  long  as  possi- 
ble, the  brother  communion."  Frederick  was  perhaps  more  of  a  nat- 
ural orator  than  either  of  his  brothers.  Ilis  imagination  was  fervid, 
his  temperament  buoyant,  and  his  sensibility  very  lively.  Persons 
yet  living,  who  in  their  youth  heard  him  plead  in  jury  trials,  speak  en- 
thusiastically of  his  power  and  success. 

On  two  occasions  he  delivered  public  orations  which  excited  great 
interest  at  the  time,  and  led  the  community  to  form  high  expectations 
of  him,  which,  however,  were  blasted  by  his  early  death.  One  of  these 
was  before  the  Washington  Benevolent  Association  at  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1812,  the  other  before  the  Somerset  County  Bible  Society  at 
Somerville  In  1820.  Both  of  these  were  committed  to  the  press,  and 
a  few  copies  are  still  extant. 

A  month  or  two  after  pronouncing  the  address  before  the  Bible  So- 
ciety he  was  attacked  with  what  proved  to  be  a  mortal  disease.  His 
religious  views  at  first  were  clouded,  but  soon  he  was  enabled  to  rest 
upon  the  Savior  in  simple  faith,  and  thenceforward  to  the  close  of  his 
five  weeks'  illness  all  was  peace.  The  world  was  dismissed  from  his 
thoughts ;  he  had  no  solicitude  for  his  recovery ;  in  weakness  and 
suffering  Patience  wrought  her  perfect  work.  His  sole  anxiety  was 
for  those  who  were  still  out  of  Christ,  and  his  communion  with  his 
Lord  was  such  as  to  outweigh  "ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
worlds."  After  bearing  an  ample  and  most  intelligent  testimony  to 
evangelical  piety,  he  fell  asleep  November  10th,  1820. 

On  the  14th  of  November,  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of 
New  Jersey  was  held  at  the  State-house  in  Trenton,  when  Richard 
Stockton  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Joseph  C.  Hornblower  appoint- 
ed secretary.  "The  meeting  being  organized,  L.  H.  Stockton,  Esq., 
in  an  appropriate  manner,  announced  the  recent  and  solemn  dispen- 
sation of  Providence  in  the  death  of  Frederick  FreUnghuysen,  Esq., 
a  counselor  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state.     Whereupon,  the 


282  APPENDIX. 

members  of  the  meeting  being  deeply  impressed  "with  the  irrepara- 
ble loss  sustained  by  society  in  this  event,  it  was  unanimously  re- 
solved, 

"1.  That  we  do  most  sincerely,  cordially,  and  affectionately  sym- 
pathize with  the  bereaved  widow,  the  oi-phan  children,  arid  the  other 
near  relatives  of  our  deceased  brother  on  this  afflicting  dispensation 
of  Divine  Providence,  which  has  deprived  the  bar  of  the  society  of 
an  honest  and  honorable  man,  peculiarly  endeared  to  his  country  by 
the  characteristic  traits  that  distinguished  him,  not  only  as  an  able 
and  eloquent  advocate,  but  as  a  Christian,  a  scholar,  and  a  gentleman. 

"  2.  That,  in  testimony  of  our  attachment  to  his  memory,  and  re- 
spect to  his  public  and  private  character,  we  will  wear  the  usual 
badge  of  mourning  thirty  days. 

"3.  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  several  newspapers 
of  this  state,  and  that  they  be  communicated  to  John  Frelinghuysen 
and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Esqs.,  the  brothers,  and  also  to  the  wid- 
ow of  our  deceased  friend. 

"By  order  of  the  meeting.  Kichakd  Stockton,  Pres. 

"Joseph  C.  Hoknblowee,  Sec." 


INDEX. 


African  colonization,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's  interest  in,  222. 

Alexander,  Dr.  Archibald,  on  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  eloquence,  128. 

Alexander,  Dr.  James  W.,  on  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  character,  145. 

Annexation  of  Texas,  its  influence 
on  presidential  election  of  1844, 
92 ;  on  subsequent  fate  of  the 
nation,  93. 

Atoning  Savior,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's faith  in,  165,  272. 

Attorney  General  of  New  Jersey, 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  appoint- 
ment to  the  ofiSce,  46  ;  his  dis- 
charge of  its  duties,  47;  one  rea- 
son of  his  accepting  it,  154. 

Baccalaureate  addresses,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's at  Rutger's  Col- 
lege, 109,  110. 

Baldwin,  Judge,  decides  the  pro- 
prietary case,  56. 

Bar  of  New  Jersey,  42,  48 ;  wis- 
dom of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
leaving  it,  57. 

Basking  Ridge,  academy  there,  31. 

Baxter's  Saint's  Rest,  Mr.  Freling- 
huvsen's  fondness  for,  121. 

Benefits  of  affliction,  209,  211. 

Bible,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  dili- 
gent study  of,  122,  139,  140, 
149,  261. 

Bible  Society,  American,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's connection  with, 
218-222;  his  love  for,  169. 

Bradish,  Hon.  L.,  author  of  Bible 
Society's  minute  on  the  death 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  221. 

Breckinridge,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  pro- 
cures a  meeting  for  the  Amer-! 


ican  Sunday  School  Union  at 
Washington,  233. 

Brevity  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
speeches,  122. 

Briggs,  Governor,  his  interest  in 
the  Congressional  prayer-meet- 
ing, 157 ;  in  the  temperance 
movement,  246. 

Brougham,  Lord,  on  a  lawyer's 
duty,  156. 

Brown,  Rev.  I.  V,  his  Life  of  Dr. 
Finley,  32. 

Brownlee,  Rev.  Dr.,  at  Basking 
Ridge,  32. 

Burnet's  Life  of  Hale  quoted,  155. 

Calhoun,  John  C,  59. 

Campbell,  Lord,  on  a  lawyer's  duty, 
156. 

Campbell,  Rev.  Dr.,  at  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's funeral,  113;  his 
funeral  sermon  quoted,  164, 
192  ;  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  part- 
ing interview  with,  261. 

Cannon,  Rev.  Dr.,  his  opinion  of 
General  Frelinghuysen's  piety, 
26  ;  speech  at  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's inauguration,  104. 

Catholicity,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
99, 118,  164, 217;  its  limits,  165. 

Censoriousness,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's freedom  from,  149,  192. 

Chambers,  Hon.  E.  F.,his  letter  to 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  186. 

Chambers,  Hon.  George,  class- 
mate of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  33 ; 
testifies  to  his  diligence  in  study, 
36 ;  to  his  legislative  character, 
64. 

Charities,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
163,  164,  224. 


284 


INDEX. 


Cheerfulness,  Mr.  Frelinghuj-sen's, 
115,  141,  152,  258,  271. 

Cheever,  Eev.  E.,  quoted,  161. 

Children,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
fondness  for,  116. 

Choice  of  a  profession,  Mr.  Ere- 
linghuvsen's  counsel  on,  207. 

Cholera,  fast  day  for,  78. 

Christian  Intelligencer,  The,  quot- 
ed, 280. 

Clay,  Henry,  in  Senate,  59  ;  opin- 
ion of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  81 ; 
nominated  for  President,  87 ; 
popularity  of,  117 ;  letters  to  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  175-180. 

"Coetus,"  the,  origin  of,  19. 

Colonization  Society,  American, 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  connection 
with,  222;  speech  for,  127;  re- 
view of,  223  ;  life-long  interest 
in,  224. 

"  Conferentie,"  the,  origin  of,  19. 

Congi-essional  life,  its  moral  risks, 
158;  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  views 
of,  195,  196. 

Conscientiousness,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's, 129,  143,144. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  love  for, 
45,  110. 

Conversion  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
agencies  in,  130;  its  character, 
133. 

Cornell,  Rev.  John,  sketch  of,  278. 

Cornell,  Mrs.  Maria,  character, 
279 ;  influence  on  her  brother, 
279 ;  piety,  280. 

Cornell,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  H.,  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  letters  to,  209- 
212. 

Courage  of  General  F.  Frelinghuy- 
sen, 25;  of  John  Frelinghuysen, 
276;  of  Theodore,  257. 

Cox,  Rev.  Dr.,  orderly  sergeant  of 
Captain  Frelinghuysen,  44, 

Crosby,  Rev.  Dr.  Howard,  on  Mr. 
Frelingliuysen,  106-109. 

"  Crown  lawyer,"  anecdote,  49. 

Davis,  lion.  John,  87. 


Dawson,  Hon.  Mr.,  81. 

Death,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  fear  of, 
253 ;  his  victory  over,  255,  258 ;" 
his  own  at  a  fit  time.  111 ;  of 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  Esq., 
131 ;  its  character,  132,  281. 

Demarest,  Rev.  William,  transla- 
tor of  "Frelinghuysen's  Ser- 
mons," 16. 

De  Witt,  Rev.  Dr.,  pastor  of  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  160;  receives  a 
letter  of  condolence  from  him, 
212  ;  speaks  at  his  funeral,  112. 

Dickerson,  Hon.  Mahlon,  59. 

Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress 
recommended,  205. 

Dumont,  Peter  B.,  330. 

Duryea,  Rev.  J.  T.,  reports  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  words  on  a  cer- 
tain occasion,  134. 

Dutch  Church,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
born  in  the,  129 ;  his  love  for 
the,  165, 

Edwards,  President,  refers  to  T.  J. 
Frelingluiysen's  ministry,  16. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Dr.,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's letter  to,  248. 

Elder,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  activi- 
ty as  such, 161. 

Election  campaign  of  1844,  its 
earnestness,  88 ;  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's views  of,  177;  Mr. 
Clay's,  178. 

Ellsworth,  Hon.W^illiam,  Mr. Fre- 
linghuysen's letter  to,  88. 

Elmendorf,  Dr.  James  B.,  marries 
Elizabeth  Frelinghuysen,  27. 

Eloquence,  INIr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
42 ;  character  of,  50  ;  instances 
inNewark,  123;  inBoston,  124; 
power  of,  124 ;  not  capable  of 
report,  125;  Dr.  Magic's  rem- 
iniscence, 126-128  ;  before  the 
American  Bible  Society,  220. 

Evarts,  Jeremiah,  remarks  on  one 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuvsen's  speech- 
es, 76. 

Everett,  Hon.  Edward,  letter  from, 
82,  83. 


INDEX. 


285 


Faith,  simplicity  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's,  133  ;  strength  of,  148 

Fast-day  for  cholera,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's  speech  upon  appoint 
ing,  78. 

Fasting,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  prac- 
tice of,  139. 

Fillmore,  Hon.  M.,  87. 

Finley,  Rev.  Dr.,  his  school,  32 ; 
his  religious  -influence,  130  ; 
founder  of  American  Coloniza 
tion  Society,  222. 

Flag-raising  at  Rutgcr's  College, 
45. 

Flattery,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  ab 
horrence  of,  136. 

Forgiveness  of  injuries,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  on,  141. 

Frelinghuysen,  Mrs.  Ann,  her  mar 
riage,  27 ;  happy  influence  on 
her  husband's  children,  31. 

Frelinghuysen,  Mrs.  Charlotte,  her 
marriage,  40  ;  character,  40  ; 
death,  109. 

Frelinghuysen,  Ferdinandus,  17. 

Fi'elinghuyscn,  General  Frederick, 
his  birth,  22 ;  education,  23 ; 
Revolutionary  services,  24 ;  in 
U.  S.  Senate,  25  ;  death,  2G  ; 
children,  27. 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick,  Esq., 
28,  29,  131,  280-282. 

Frelinghuysen,  Mrs.  Harriet,  109. 

Frelinghuysen,  Henricvis,  17. 

Frelinghuysen,  Jacobus,  17. 

Frelinghuysen,  the  Rev.  John, 
birth  and  education,  18;  mar- 
riage, 21  ;   death,  19. 

Frelinghuysen,  John,  Esq.,  his  in- 
fluence on  Theodore,  36 ;  youth, 
275  ;  integrity  and  courage, 
276 ;   piety,  277. 

Frelinghuysen,  the  Rev.  Theo. 
Jac,  his  birth,  13;  call  to 
America,  14  ;  ministry,  15  ; 
success,  16. 

Frelinghuysen,  the  Rev.  Theodore, 
his  education,  16 ;  character, 
17. 

Frelinghuysen,    Hon.    Theodore, 


his  birth,  28 ;  education  at  New 
Brunswick,  31  ;  at  Basking 
Ridge,  32  ;  at  Princeton,  33  ; 
studying  law,  36  ;  maiTiage,  40 ; 
success  at  the  bar,  42 ;  patriot- 
ism, 44  ;  attorney  general,  46  ; 
legal  characteristics,  48  ;  in 
Quaker  case,  50 ;  in  Proprietary 
case,  56  ;  in  Senate,  61 ;  on  the 
Indians,  6G ;  on  Sunday  mails, 
73 ;  on  appointing  a  fast  day, 
78  ;  returns  to  Newark,  84  ; 
Chancellor  of  University,  85  ; 
nominated  for  Vice-president, 
87 ;  result  of  election,  91 ;  not 
to  be  regretted,  92 ;  removes  to 
New  Brunswick,  104 ;  death, 
111 ;  funeral,  112;  person,  114; 
social  habits,  115  ;  mental  traits, 
112-120;  reading,  121;  elo- 
quence, 122-127;  conversion, 
130;  faith,  133;  humility,  135; 
devotions,  138 ;  conscientious- 
ness, 143;  hospitality,  152;  le- 
gal integrity,  156 ;  activity  as 
elder,  161;  in  Sundaj'-schools, 
162  ;  charities,  163 ;  concern 
for  souls,  171 ;  President  of  A. 
B.  C.  F.  M.,  214  ;  of  American 
Bible  Society,  219;  of  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society,  226  ;  his  in- 
terest in  African  colonization, 
222 ;  in  American  S.  S.  Union, 
232  ;  in  American  Temperance 
Union,  245 ;  dying  exercises, 
252  ;  summary  of  his  character, 
264. 

Friends,  society  of,  their  division, 
60  ;  their  creed,  52. 

Friends,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  fond- 
ness for,  142,  152,  256. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  his  lines  to  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  70. 

Geniality  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
piety,  141. 

"  Gift  of  God,"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
really  such,  264. 

Grant,  Mrs.,  of  Laggan,  her  notice 
of  the  Rev.  Theodore  Freling- 
huysen, 17 


286 


INDEX. 


Griffin,  Rev.  Dr.,  130. 

Gurley,  Rev.  Dr.,  letter  from,  223. 

Haines,  Governor,  his  speech  at 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  inaugura- 
tion, 104. 

Hall  vs.  Grant,  50. 

Hall,  Rev.  Robert,  an  audible  pri- 
vate prayer,  139 ;  on  religion, 
210. 

Hallock,  Rev.  Dr.,  letter  from,  225 ; 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  letter  to, 
227. 

Hardenbergh,  Rev.  Dr.,  his  char- 
acter and  marriage,  21. 

Hardenbergh,  the  Jufvrouw,  her 
piety,  20  ;  mai-riage,  21 ;  second 
marriage,  21;  death,  22;  desires 
her  children  to  become  minis 
ters,  22  ;  influence  on  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,  129 ;  longing  for 
death,  2G2. 

Harlan  Page's  example,  230. 

Hasbrouck,  Hon.  A.  B.,  President 
of  Rutger's  College,  103. 

Hay,  Rev.  Dr.,  letter  of  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen to,  329  ;  his  intima- 
cy with,  160. 

Henry,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  S.,  99. 

Hodge,  Rev.  Dr.,  at  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's funeral,  112. 

Home,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  piety 
at,  151. 

Hope,  Dr.,  anecdote  of,  152. 

Hornblower,  Chief  Justice,  42, 282. 

Hospitalitv,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
117,  152,  153. 

Humility,  Mr.  Frelinghuj'sen's,  its 
extent,  100,  102,  135;  expres- 
sions, 136,  254,  256,  262; 
grounds,  137,  148. 

Humor,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's,  99  ; 
anecdotes,  115,  123. 

Imagination,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
120. 

Indian  Bill,  its  nature,  64 ;  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  speech  upon, 
06 ;  subsequently  approved  in 
Georgia,  82  ;  Mr.  Everett's  opin- 


ion of,  83 ;    Professor  Lewis's, 

95-97. 
Industry,  its  value  to  the  young, 

194,  195,  198,  200,  202-3. 
Ingersoll,  Hon.  J.  R.,  a  classmate 

of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  33 ;    let- 
ter from,  33-35. 
Insight,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's,  63  ; 

into  character,  117  ;  into  books, 

117. 
Integrity  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  80, 

81,82. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  character,  61 ; 
on  Indian  question,  65,  69  ;  on 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  integrity, 
81 ;  commended  by  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, 157 ;  his  annual  mes- 
sage in  1834,204. 

Jackson,  John  P.,  Esq.,  Mr.  Clay's 
letter  to,  81;  his  testimony  to 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  189. 

Jackson,  Rev.  William,  marries 
Anna  Frelinghuysen,  18. 

Jay's  Exercises,  a  favorite  book  of 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's,  121. 

Jefferson,  President,  on  Indian 
question,  67 ;  has  a  fund  for  ed- 
ucating colored  children,  224. 

Job,  quotation  from,  applied  to 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  164 

Johnson,  Professor,  99. 

Johnson,  Hon.  R.  M.,  his  reports 
on  Sunday  mails,  71,  72. 

Judd,  Rev.  Dr.  Gideon  F.,  marries 
a  daughter  of  General  F.  Fre- 
linghuysen, 27 ;  his  death  and 
funeral,  210. 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court  of  New 
Jersey,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  ap- 
pointed, 47. 

Judgment,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
soundness  of,  49,  62 ;  accuracy 
of,  119. 

Kirkpatrick,  Rev.  Dr.,  a  classmate 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  32  ;  con- 
versation with  him,  155. 

Last  sickness  of  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 


INDEX. 


287 


sen,  its  origin  and  progress,  252 
-253. 

Law,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  studies, 
36  ;  practices,  40 ;  forsakes,  57, 
85. 

Legal  profession,  its  moral  charac- 
ter, 154;  why  Dr.  Spring  left 
it,  171. 

Lewis,  Professor  Tayler,  letter 
upon  Mr.  Frelinghuyseu's  char- 
acter, 95-102. 

Lincoln,  Hon.  Heman,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  letter  to,  168. 

Lindsley,  Eev.  John,  rector  of 
grammar-school  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, 28. 

Lindsley,  Rev.  Dr.  Philip,  a  class- 
mate of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  32. 

Livingston,  Edward,  replies  to  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  speech  on  Sun- 
day mails,  73. 

Lord's  day,  John  Frelinghuysen's 
zeal  for,  277. 

Lumpkin,  Governor,  approves  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  course  on  In- 
dian Bill,  81;  calls  him  "gift 
of  God,"  264. 

Magie,  Eev.  Dr.,  letter  from,  126 

-128. 
Marsh,  Eev,  Dr.,  letter  from,  245 

-251. 
Meekness,    Mr.    Frelinghuysen's, 

anecdotes  of,  141. 
Mercer,  Archibald,  40,  325. 
Messier,  Eev.  Dr. ,  his  estimate  of 

the  first  Frelinghuysens'  success, 

16 ;  his  wi-itings,  27. 
Milledoler,  Eev.  Dr.,  President  of 

Eutger's  College,  103. 
Ministers  of  Gospel,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's desire  to  become  one, 

170 ;  his  respect  and  care  for, 

160. 
Missions,  Foreign,  A.  B.  C,  Mr. 

Frelinghuysen's    speeches    for, 

123,   124;     president    of,  214; 

resignation,  215;   farewell  let 

ter  to,  216. 
Murder  case  at  Newark,  Mr.  Fre- 


linghuysen's eloquent  eflfort  in, 
42. 

Nassau  Hall,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
studies  there,  33. 

Ncilson,  Colonel  James,  28. 

Neville,  Eev.  Dr.,  reads  service  at 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  grave,  113. 

Nevius,  Hon.  J.  S.,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's letter  to,  184-186. 

Newark,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  set- 
tlement there,  40 ;  returns  there 
from  "Washington,  84;  speaks 
there  on  Henry  Clay,  181. 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  scene  of 
Eev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen's  la- 
bors, 14, 15  ;  final  residence  of 
Jufvrouw  Hardenbergh,  22 ;  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  at  school  there^ 
28  ;  removes  there,  104 ;  buried 
there,  113. 

Packard,  Frederick  A.,  Esq.,  let- 
ter from,  232. 

Parker,  C,  Esq.,  on  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's character,  41-44, 154. 

Patriotism,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's, 
44,  46. 

Peacemaker,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
skill  as  such,  161. 

Pennington,  Hon.  William,  42 ; 
letter  from,  184. 

Personal  efforts  for  souls,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's, 149, 171-174;  his 
speech  upon,  228-231. 

Pirtle  &  Prentice,  Messrs.,  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  letter  to,  89, 
90. 

Poets,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  favor- 
ite, 121. 

Popularity  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
its  cause,  117. 

Power  of  kindness,  229. 

Prayer,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  hab- 
its of,  138-140, 146,  261. 

Prayer -meetings.  Congressional, 
157 ;  in  general,  149, 160. 

Presidential  election  in  1844 — 
warmth  of  the  canvass,  88 ;   its 

•    result  not  to  be  regretted,  92 ; 


288 


INDEX. 


Mr.  Frelingliuysen's  views  of, 
177;  Mr.  Clay's  do.,  178,  179. 

Princeton,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  stud- 
ies law  there,  39. 

Prohibitory  Liquor  Law,  Mr.  Pre- 
linghuysen's  views  upon,  218- 
251. 

' '  Proprietary  case,  "56. 

"Quaker  case,"  its  nature,  50; 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  argument 
in,  53 ;  result,  55. 

Queen's  College,  origin  and  found- 
ers, 103  ;  its  grammar  -  school, 
28 ;  graduates,  275,  278. 

Randolph,  John,  testifies  to  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  i-eligious  char- 
acter, 137." 

Reading,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's,  41. 

Religious  conversation,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's fondness  for,  100. 

Resignation,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's. 
258. 

Romeyn,  Rev.  Thomas,  marries 
Margaret  Frelinghuysen,  18. 

Romeyn,  Rev.  Theo.  Frel.,  minis- 
ter at  Raritan,  18. 

Rutger's  College,  history  of,  103  ; 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  made  presi- 
dent, lO-l;  prosperity  of,  105; 
raises  flag  at,  45 ;  addresses  at, 
109,  110. 

Saturday  afternoon,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's, 1G3. 

Senate  of  United  States,  its  mem- 
bers in  1829-1835,  59;  bril- 
liancy, 60,  83  ;  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's course  in  it,  62,  156-159. 

Sergeant,  Hon.  John,  87. 

Sharswood,  Judge,  his  work  on 
professional  ethics  quoted,  153. 

Simplicity  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
147,  148. 

Slander  case,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
argument  in,  50. 

Slavery,  its  overthrow  in  United 
States,  92-94. 

Somerville,  New"  Jersey,  Theolog- 


ical Seminary  at,  19 ;  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's speech  there,  89. 

Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  S.,  23. 

Smith,  Rev.  J.  Few,  his  historical 
discourse,  130 ;  at  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's funeral,  112. 

Smith,  Dr.  Ephraim,  28. 

Southard,  Hon.  S.L.,  classmate  of 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  32  ;  on  the 
bench,  43 ;  in  the  Senate,  59 ; 
at  the  bar,  51. 

Spring,  Rev.  Dr.  G.,  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  170. 

Statesmanship,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's, 63,  64. 

Stockton,  Hon.  Richard,  42;  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  studies  law  with, 
39  ;  Frederick  F.  also,  330. 

Strong,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  C,  at  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's funeral,  1 12. 

Studdiford,  Rev.  Dr.,  on  Dr.  Fin- 
ley,  130. 

Student,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  always 
a  diligent  one,  34,  36,  41. 

Style,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's,  122. 

Sunday  Mail  Bill,  its  character, 
71 ;  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  sjicech, 
73 ;  results,  77. 

Sunday-schools,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's interest  in,  126,  161-163, 
243. 

Sunday-school  Union,  American, 
Mr.  Frelinghuj'sen's  connection 
with,  232 ;  his  speech  before, 
234-237. 

Synod  of  New  Jersey,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's eloquent  speech  before, 
127. 

Tallmage,  Gen.  James,  at  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's inauguration-  as 
chancellor,  85. 

Taylor,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  R.,  sermon 
on  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  124 ;  let- 
ter concerning,  219-221. 

T.emperance  cause,  Mr.  Freling; 
huyscn's  interest  in,  145,  244- 
his  efforts  for,  247 ;  MrS.  Cor 
nell's,  279. 

Temperance  Union,  American,  Mr. 


INDEX. 


289 


Frelinghuysen's  connection  with 
245. 

Temptations,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
in  liis  last  illness,  259. 

Tenncnt,  Rev.  Gilbert,  his  account 
of  Rev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen's 
success,  15. 

Tract  Society,  American,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's connection  with, 
225;  President  of,  226;  resigna- 
tion, 227;  address  before,  228. 

Training  of  youth,  its  importance, 
'234,  241. 

Treat,  Eev.  Dr.,  letter  from,  214. 

Union  of  the  states,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's zeal  for,  45,  46,  110. 

University  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  made  chan- 
cellor, 84  ;  inauguration,  85 ; 
success,  86  ;  resignation,  95. 


Valedictory  at  college,  Mr.  Fre 
linghuysen's,  35. 

VanBuren,  Hon.  Martin,  Mr.  Frc 
linghuysen  opposes  his  confirm- 
ation as  minister  to  Great  Brit- 
ain, 62. 

Van  Nostrand,  Caspar,  22. 

Vice-president  of  United  States, 
Mr.  Fi-elinghuysen's  nomination 
for  the  post,  87 ;  competitors,  88 ; 
election,  89;  the  result,  90;  con- 
sequences, 91-94. 

Visiting  the  sick,  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen's diligence  in,  161. 

Vroom,  Hon.  Peter  D.,  his  obitu- 
ary of  Mrs.  Maria  Cornell,  280. 

N 


Waddell  vs.  ]\Tm-tin,  56. 

Wall,  Hon.G.D.,61. 

War  of  1812,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
exertions  in,  44  ;  John  Freling- 
huysen's, 276. 

Waring,  Mrs.  A.  F.,  quoted,  258. 

Washington,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
first  experience  there,  195. 

Way  land.  Dr.,  his  sermon  on  the 
Apostolic  Ministry,  168. 

Webster,  Daniel,  59,  233,  245  ;  on 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  character, 
80 ;  letters  to  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen, 182,  183. 

Whisky  Insurrection,  Gen.  Fred- 
erick Frelinghuysen  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  it,  25. 

Whitfield,  Rev.  George,  his  refer-, 
ence  to  Frelingliuysen's  success, 
16. 

Wilson,  Rev.  Dr.  Hugh  N.,  at  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen's  funeral,  112; 
testimony  concerning,  121. 

Wood,  George,  Esq.,  42,  51. 

Woodbridge,  Rev.  Dr. ,  at  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen's funeral,  112;  letter 
concerning  him,  147. 

Wordsworth's  Excursion  quoted, 
116,126. 

Wyckoflf,  Rev.  Dr.,  his  obligations 
to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  37,  38. 


York,  the  old  colored  man,  144. 

Young,  Mr.  Fi-elinghnysen's  fond- 
ness for,  116,142. 

Young  lawyer,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's 
agency  in  his  conversion,  187. 


"They  do  honor  to  American  Literature,  and  -would  do 
honor  to  the  Literature  of  any  Country  in  the  World." 

THE   RISE   OF 
THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

By  JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY. 

New  Edition.    With  a  Portrait  of  Williahi  of  Okange,    3  vols. 
8vo,  Muslin,  $7  50. 

We  regard  this  work  as  the  best  contribution  to  modem  history  that  has  yet 
been  made  by  aa  American. — Methodist  Qriarterly  Review. 

The  "History  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  is  a  great  gift  to  us;  but  the  heart  and 
earnestness  that  beat  through  all  its  pages  are  greater,  for  they  give  us  most 
timely  inspiration  to  vindicate  the  true  ideas  of  our  country,  and  to  compose  an 
able  history  of  our  own. — Christian  Exaviiner  (Boston). 

This  work  bears  on  its  face  the  evidences  of  scholarship  and  research.  The 
arrangement  is  clear  and  effective ;  the  style  energetic,  lively,  and  often  brilliant. 
*  *  *  Mr.  Motley's  instructive  volumes  will,  we  trust,  have  a  circulation  commen- 
surate with  their  interest  and  yalne.—JProtestant  Episcopal  Quarterly  Review. 

To  the  illustration  of  this  most  interesting  period  Mr.  Motley  has  brought  the 
matured  powers  of  a  vigorous  and  brilliant  mind,  and  the  abundant  fruits  of  pa- 
tient and  judicious  study  and  deep  reflection.  The  result  is,  one  of  the  most 
important  contributions  to  historical  literature  that  have  been  made  in  this  coun- 
try.— North  Ame)~ican  Review. 

We  would  conclude  this  notice  by  earnestly  recommending  onr  readers  to  pro- 
cure for  themselves  this  truly  great  and  admirable  ivork,  by  the  production  of 
which  the  auther  has  conferred  no  less  honor  upon  his  country  than  he  has  won 
praise  and  fame  for  himself,  and  than  which,  we  can  assure  them,  they  can  find 
nothing  more  attractive  or  interesting  within  the  compass  of  modern  literature. 
— Evangelical  Review. 

It  is  not  often  that  we  have  the  pleasure  of  commending  to  the  attention  of  the 
lover  of  books  a  work  of  such  extraordinary  aud  unexceptionable  excellence  as 
this  one. — Universalist  Quarterly  Review. 

There  are  an  elevation  and  a  classic  polish  in  these  volumes,  and  a  felicity  of 
grouping  and  of  portraiture,  which  invest  the  subject  with  the  attractions  of  a 
living  and  stirring  episode  in  the  grand  historic  drama.— SoMfftern  Methodist 
Quarterly  Review. 

The  author  writes  with  a  genial  glow  and  love  of  his  subject.— Pres&ytenan 
Quarterly  Review. 

Mr.  Motley  is  a  sturdy  Republican  and  a  hearty  Protestant  His  style  is  live- 
ly and  picturesque,  and  his  work  is  an  honor  and  an  important  accession  to  our 
national  literature. — Church  Revieiu. 

Mr.  Motley's  work  is  an  important  one,  the  result  of  profound  research,  sincerfe 
convictions,  sound  principles,  and  manly  sentiments;  and  even  those  who  are 
most  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  period  will  find  in  it  a  fresh  and  vivid  ad- 
dition to  their  previous  knowledge.  It  does  honor  to  American  literature,  and 
■would  do  honor  to  the  literature  of  any  country  in  the  world. — Edinburgh  Re- 
view. 

A  serious  chasm  in  English  historical  literature  has  been  (by  this  book)  very 
remarkably  filled.  *  »  *  A  history  as  complete  as  industry  and  genius  can  make 
it  now  lies  before  us,  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  revolt  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces. •  *  *  All  the  essentials  of  a  great  writer  Mr.  Motley  eminently  possesses. 
His  mind  is  broad,  his  industry  unwearied.  In  power  of  dramatic  description 
no  modern  historian,  except,  perhaps,  Mr.  Carlyle,  surpasses  hira,  and  in  analy- 
Bifl  of  character  he  is  elaborate  and  distinct Westminster  Review. 


2    MOTLEY'S  RISE  OP  THE  DUTCU  REPUBLia 

It  is  a  work  of  real  historical  value,  the  result  of  accurate  criticism,  ■writtea 
in  a  liberal  spirit,  and  from  first  to  last  deeply  interesting. — Athen(Eimi. 

The  style  is  excellent,  clear,  vivid,  eloquent ;  and  the  industry  with  which 
original  sources  have  been  investigated,  and  through  Avhich  new  liglit  has  been 
shed  over  perplexed  incidents  and  characters,  entitles  Mr.  Motley  to  a  high  rank 
in  the  literature  of  an  age  peculiarly  rich  in  history. — Sorth  British  Jieview. 

It  abounds  in  new  information,  and,  aa  a  first  work,  commands  a  very  cordial 
recognition,  not  merely  of  the  promise  it  gives,  but  of  the  extent  and  importance 
of  the  labor  actually  performed  on  it. — Lomlon  Examiner. 

Mr.  Motley's  "History"  is  a  work  of  which  any  country  might  be  proud. — 
Press  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  History  will  be  a  standard  book  of  reference  iu  historical  litera- 
ture.— London  Literary  Gazette. 

Mr.  Motley  has  searched  the  whole  range  of  historical  documents  necessary  to 
the  composition  of  his  work. — London  Leader. 

This  is  really  a  great  work.  It  belongs  to  the  class  of  books  in  which  we 
range  our  Grotes,  Milmans,  Merivales,  and  Macaulays,  as  the  glories  of  English 
literature  in  the  department  of  history.  *  *  *  Mr.  Motley's  gifts  as  a  historical 
writer  are  among  the  highest  and  rarest. — Nonconformist  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  volumes  will  well  repay  perusal.  *  *  *  For  his  learning,  his  liberal 
tone,  and  his  generous  enthusiasm,  we  hwrtily  commend  him,  and  bid  him  good 
speed  for  the  remainor  of  his  interesting  and  heroic  narrative. — Saturday  Revieio. 

The  story  is  a  noble  one,  and  is  worthily  treated.  *  *  *  Mr.  Motley  has  had  the 
patience  to  unravel,  with  unfailing  perseverance,  the  thousand  intricate  plots  of 
the  adversaries  of  the  Prince  of  Orange;  but  the  details  and  tlie  literal  extracts 
which  he  has  derived  from  original  documents,  and  transferred  to  his  pages, 
give  a  truthful  color  and  a  picturesque  effect,  which  are  especially  charming. — 
London  Daily  News. 

M.  Lothrop  Motley  dans  son  magnifiquc  tableau  de  la  formation  dc  notrc  Ke- 
publique. — G-.  Geoen  Van  Peihsteeeb. 

Our  accomplished  countryman,  Mr.  J.  Lothrop  Motley,  who,  during  the  last 
five  years,  for  the  better  prosecution  of  his  labors,  has  established  his  residence 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  scenes  of  his  narrative.  No  one  acquainted  with  the 
fine  powers  of  mind  possessed  by  this  scholar,  and  the  earnestness  with  which  ha 
has  devoted  himself  to  the  task,  can  doubt  that  he  will  do  full  justice  to  his  im- 
portant but  difficult  subject. — \\.  H.  Peesoott. 

The  production  of  such  a  work  as  this  astonishes,  while  it  gratifies  the  pride 
of  the  American  reader. — N.  Y.  Observer. 

The  "  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  at  once,  and  by  acclamation,  takes  its 
place  by  the  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  as  a  work  which,  wheth- 
er for  research,  substance,  or  style,  will  never  be  superseded. — jV.  Y.  Albion. 

A  work  upon  which  all  who  read  the  English  language  may  congratulata 
themselves. — New  Yorker  Handcla  Zcitung. 

Mr.  Motley's  place  is  now  (alluding  to  this  book)  with  Hallam  and  Lord  Ma- 
hon,  Alison  and  Macaulay  in  the  Old  Country,  and  with  Washington  Irving, 
Pre.^cott,  and  Bancroft  in  this. — N.  Y.  Times. 

The  authority,  in  the  English  tongue,  for  the  history  of  the  period  and  people 
to  which  it  refers. — N.  Y.  Courier  and  Enquirer. 

This  work  at  once  places  the  author  on  the  list  of  American  historians  which 
has  been  so  signally  illustrated  by  the  names  of  Irving,  Prcscott,  Bancroft,  and 
Hildrcth. — Boston  Times. 

The  work  is  a  noble  one,  and  a  most  desirable  acquisition  to  our  historical  lit- 
erature.— 3Iobile  A  dvertiser. 

Such  a  work  is  !\n  honor  to  its  author,  to  his  country,  and  to  the  ago  iu  which 
it  was  written. — Ohio  Farmer, 

Published  hy  HARPER  d-  BROTHERS, 

Franklin  Square,  New  York. 


nATOTTl  &  BitOTnuna  will  Rcnd  thr  above  Work  by  Mail  (poRtape  paid  (for  any 
distance  in  the  l.'iiit^;d  Slates  under  iU)00  miloB),  on  receipt  of  tlic  Money. 


Mr.  Motlei!,  the  Aniiricaii  liisCorian  of  the  United  yitherlands — ive  owe  him 
English  /iowiar/c— Lokuon  Times. 

'Ms  interesting  as  a  roma7ice.,  and  as  reliable  as  a  proposition  of  Euclid." 


History  of 
The  United  Netherlands. 

FROM   THE  PEATH  OF   WILLIAM  THE   SILEKT  TO  THE   SYNOD  OP   DOKT.      ■VVITn  A 

FDLL  TIBW  OF  THE   ENGLISH-DUTCH   STRUGGLE   AGAINST   SPAIN,   AND 

OF  THE  ORIGIN   AND   DESTRUCTION   OF   THE  SPANISH 

ARMADA. 

By  JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 

Corr^spondiDg  Jlember  of  the  Institute  of  France,  Author  of  "The  Kise  of  the 
Dutch  Republic." 

With  Portraits  and  Map. 

2  vols.  Svo,  Muslin,  $5  00. 

Critical  Notices. 

His  living  and  truthful  picture  of  events. — Qvxirtcrlij  Review  (London),  Jan., 
1861. 

Fertile  aa  the  present  ag3  has  been  in  historical  works  of  the  highest  merit, 
none  of  them  can  be  ranked  above  these  volumes  in  the  grand  qnalities  of  interest, 
accuracy,  and  truth .Edinburgh  Quarterly  Review,  Jan.,  1861. 

This  noble  work Westminster  Review  (London). 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  as  well  as  important  histories  of  the  centuiy Cor. 

N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

The  careful  study  of  these  volumes  will  infallibly  afford  a  feast  both  rich  and 
rare Baltimore  RepuhUcan. 

Already  takes  a  rank  among  standard  works  of  history. — London  Critic. 

Mr.  Motley's  prose  epic — London  Spectator. 

Its  pages  are  pregnant  with  instruction. — London  Literarij  Gazette. 

Vie  may  profit  by  almost  every  page  of  his  narrative.  All  the  topics  which  agi- 
tato us  now  are  more  or  less  vividly  presented  in  the  History  of  the  United  Nether- 
lands  jVinc  Tor/c  Times. 

Bears  on  every  p.age  marks  of  the  same  vigorous  mind  that  produced  "The  Eiso 
of  the  Dutch  Republic ;"  but  the  new  work  is  riper,  mellower,  and  though  equally 
racy  of  the  soil,  softer  flavored.  The  inspiring  idea  which  breathes  through  Mr. 
Motley's  histories  and  colors  the  whole  texture  of  his  narrative,  is  the  grandeur  of 
that  memorable  struggle  in  the  16ih  century  by  which  the  human  mind  broke  the 
thraldom  of  religious  intoleranca  and  achieved  its  independence — 7'he  World,  i\'.  V. 

The  name  of  Motley  now  stands  in  the  very  front  rank  of  living  historians.  His 
Dutch  Republic  took  the  world  by  surprise  ;  but  the  favoralile  verdict  then  given 
is  now  only  the  more  deliberately  confirmed  on  the  publication  of  the  continued 
story  under  the  title  of  the  IHs'orti  of  the  United  Netherlands.  All  the  nerve, 
and  power,  and  substance  of  juicy  life  are  there,  lending  a  charm  to  every  page. — 
Church  Journal,  X.  Y. 

Motley,  indeed,  has  produced  a  prose  epic,  and  his  fighting  scenes  are  as  real, 
spirited,  and  life-like  as  the  combats  in  the  Iliad The  Press  (Phila.). 

His  history  is  as  interesting  as  a  romance,  and  as  reliable  as  a  proposition  of  Eu- 
clid. Clio  never  had  a  more  faithful  disciple.  We  advise  every  reader  whose 
means  will  permit  to  become  the  owner  of  these  fascinating  volumes,  assuring  him 
that  he  will  never  regret  the  investment. — Christian  Intelligencer,  X  1'. 

Published  by  HARPER  8c  BROTHERS, 

Franklin  Square,  New  York. 

K3~  Harper  &  Brotheks  will  send  the  above  Work  by  Mail,  postage  pre-paid 
(for  any  distance  in  the  United  States  under  SOOO  miles),  on  receipt  of  the  Monty. 


CURTIS'S    HISTORY 

OF   THE 

CONSTITUTION. 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  ORIGIN,  FOEMATION,  AND  ADOP- 
TION OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES.  By  George  Ticknok  Curtis.  Complete  in  2  vols. 
8vo,  Muslin,  $5  00. 

A  book  so  thorough  as  this  in  the  comprehension  of  its  subject,  so  ini]iartial 
in  the  summing  up  of  its  judgments,  so  well  considered  in  its  method,  and  so 
truthful  in  its  matter,  may  safely  challenge  the  most  exhaustive  criticism.  The 
(Constitutional  History  of  our  country  has  not  before  been  made  the  subject  of  a 
special  treatise.  We  may  congratulate  ourselves  that  an  author  has  been  found 
60  capable  to  do  full  j  ustice  to  it ;  for  that  the  work  will  take  its  rank  among  the 
received  text-books  of  our  political  literature  will  be  questioned  by  no  one  who 
has  given  it  a  careful  perusal. — Kational  Intelligencer. 

We  know  of  no  person  who  is  better  qualified  (now  that  the  late  Daniel  Web- 
ster is  no  more),  to  undertake  this  important  histoiy. — Boston  Journal. 

It  will  take  its  place  among  the  classics  of  American  literature. — Boston  Cour- 
ier. 

The  author  has  given  years  to  the  preliminary  studies,  and  nothing  has  es- 
caped him  in  the  patient  and  conscientious  researches  to  which  he  has  devoted 
so  ample  a  portion  of  time.  Indeed,  the  work  has  been  so  thoroughly  performed 
that  it  will  never  need  to  be  done  over  again ;  for  the  sources  have  been  exhaust- 
ed, and  the  materials  put  together  with  so  much  judgment  and  artistic  skill  that 
taste  and  the  sense  of  completeness  are  entirely  satisfied. — K  Y.  Dailij  Times. 

A  most  important  and  valuable  contribution  to  the  historical  and  political  lit- 
erature of  the  United  States.  All  publicists  and  students  of  public  law  will  be 
grateful  to  Mr.  Curtis  for  the  diligence  and  assiduity  with  which  he  has  wrought 
out  the  great  mine  of  diplomatic  lore  in  which  the  foundations  of  the  American 
Constitution  are  laid,  and  for  the  light  he  has  thrown  on  his  wide  and  arduous 
Bulijcct. — London  Mm-ning  Chronicle. 

To  trace  the  history  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  and  explain  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time  and  country  out  of  which  its  various  provisions  grew,  is  a 
task  worthy  of  the  highest  talent.  To  have  performed  that  task  in  a  satisfacto- 
ry manner  is  au  achievement  with  which  an  honorable  ambition  may  well  bo 
gratified.  We  can  honestly  say  that  in  our  opinion  Mr.  Curtis  has  fairly  won 
this  distinction.— A';  Y.  Courier  ami  Enqxdrcr. 

We  have  seen  no  history  which  surpasses  it  in  the  essential  qualities  of  a 
standard  work  destined  to  hold  a  permanent  place  in  the  impartial  judgment  of 
future  generations.— /<*o.sfo}i  Traveler. 

Should  the  second  volume  sustain  the  character  of  the  first,  we  hazard  nothing 
in  claiming  for  the  entire  publication  the  character  of  a  standard  work.  It  will 
furnish  the  only  sure  guide  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution,  by  unfolditrg 
historically  the  wants  it  was  intended  to  supply,  and  the  evils  whicli  it  was  in- 
tended to  remedy. — Boston  Daihj  Advertiser. 

This  volume  is  an  important  contribution  to  our  constitutional  and  historical 
literature.  *  •  •  Every  true  friend  of  the  Constitution  will  gladly  welcTime  it. 
The  author  has  presented  a  narrative  clear  and  interesting.  It  evinces  careful 
research,  skillful  handling  of  material,  lucid  statement,  and  a  desire  to  write  in 
a  tone  and  manner  worthy  of  the  great  theme. — Boston  Post. 

PuhUshed  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

Fmrildiii  Square,  New  York. 


*  ,*  IXarpik  &  Brotheeb  will  send  the  above  Work  by  Mail,  postage  paid  (for 
any  distance  in  the  United  Stiitcs  under  3000  miles),  on  receipt  of  the  Money. 


HISTORY 

OF   THE 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

By  EICHAED  HILDEETH. 


First  Series. — From  the  First  Settlement  of  the  Country  to  the 
Adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.     3  vols.  8vo,  Muslin, 

$7  50. 

Secokd  Series.— From  the  Adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
to  the  End  of  the  Sixteenth  Congress.  3  vols.  8vo,  Muslin, 
$7  50. 


The  first  attempt  at  a  complete  history  of  the  United  States.  The  reader  who 
desires  to  inform  himself  in  all  the  particulars,  military  or  political,  of  the 
American  Revolution,  will  find  that  they  have  been  scrupulously  collected  for 
him  by  Mr.  Uilireth.— London  Athenceum. 

It  has  condensed  into  consecutive  narrative  the  substance  of  hundreds  of 
volumes. — Lomlon  Literary  Gazette. 

The  history  of  the  Revolution  is  clearly  and  succinctly  told. — X.  A.  Review. 

Mr.  Hildreth's  sources  of  information  have  evidently  been  ample  and  various, 
and  intelligently  examined,  his  materials  an'anged  with  a  just  idea  of  their  im- 
portance in  the  story,  while  his  judgments  are  well  considered,  imbiassed,  and 
reliable.    His  style  is  clear,  forcible,  and  sententious. — Christian  Hcgister. 

Mr.  Hildreth  is  a  very  concise,  vigorous,  and  impartial  wi-itcr.  His  entire 
history  is  very  accurate  and  interesting,  and  well  worthy  a  place  in  every  Amer- 
ican library. — Louisville  Journal. 

lie  is  laborious,  conscientious,  and  accurate.  As  a  methodical  and  very  full 
narrative,  its  value  is  undoubted.  — New  Orleans  Lee. 

The  calmness  and  ability  with  which  he  has  presented  his  narrative  will  give 
his  work  rank  among  the  standard  histories  of  the  country.— Watchman  and 
Observer. 

*  *  We  have,  therefore,  read  his  book  with  distrust.  But  we  are  bound  in 
candor  to  say  that  it  seems  to  lis  valuable  and  veiy  fair.  Mr.  Hildreth  has  con- 
fined himself  to,  as  far  as  possible,  a  dispas^onate  collection  of  facts  from  the 
documents  he  has  consulted  and  copied,  and  his  work  fills  avoid  that  has  sensi- 
bly been  felt  in  private  libraries.  As  a  documentary  histoiy  of  the  United 
States,  we  are  free  to  commend  it.— JV.  F.  Freeman's  Journal. 

Mr.  Hildreth  has  rendered  an  essential  and  permanent  service. — Providence 
Daily  Journal. 

The  volumes  will  be  regarded  as  indispensable— it  will  take  its  place  as  a 

standard  work.     The  author's  style  is  dignified,  perspicuous,  and  vivacious. 

Church  Revieio. 

The  work  is  very  complete.  The  marginal  dates,  the  two  indexes,  and  run- 
ning heads  at  the  tops  of  the  pages,  render  it  very  convenient  for  reference, 
points  which  scholars  will  find  all  important  for  utility.— iV«oarfc  Sentiml  of 
Frecdonu 


2  lIILDEETirS  IIISTOKY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

We  should  like  to  know  what  other  book  upon  American  history,  or  even  upon 
any  limited  portion  of  it,  presents  any  thing  like  the  same  distinctness  of  view, 
or  can  at  all  compete  with  it  in  that  "lucid  order"  which  is  one  of  the  fii-st  mer- 
its of  every  historical  work. — Boston  Atlas. 

His  work  fills  a  want,  and  is  therefore  most  welcome.  Its  positive  merits,  in 
addition  to  those  wc  have  before  mentioned,  are  impartiality,  steadiness  of 
view,  clear  appreciation  of  character,  and,  in  point  of  style,  a  terseness  and  con- 
ciseness not  unlike  Tacitus,  with  not  a  little,  too,  of  Tacitean  vigor  of  thought, 
stern  sense  of  justice,  sharp  irony,  and  profound  -wisdom.— 3Iethodist  Qiuirterbj 
Review. 

It  occupies  a  space  which  has  not  yet  been  filled,  and  exhibits  characteristics 
both  of  design  and  of  composition,  which  entitle  it  to  a  distinguished  place 
among  the  most  important  productions  of  American  genius  and  scliolarship. 
AVe  welcome  it  as  a  simple,  faithful,  lucid,  and  elegant  narrative  of  the  great 
events  of  American  history.  It  is  not  written  in  illustration  of  any  favorite 
theory,  it  is  not  the  expression  of  any  ideal  system,  but  an  honest  endeavor  to 
present  the  facts  in  question  in  the  pure,  uncolored  light  of  truth  and  reality. 
The  impartiality,  good  judgment,  penetration,  and  diligent  research  of  the  au- 
thor are  conspicuous  in  its  composition. — if.  Y.  Tnbune. 

In  our  judgment,  this  is  the  ablest,  best,  and  most  judicious  popular  history 
of  the  United  States  that  has  yet  appeared.  It  will  be  a  standard  book  on 
American  history,  and  will  not  fail  to  secure  a  high  reputation  as  a  writer  to  its 
modest  and  unpretending  axLi\\oi:  —  Washin(jton  Union. 

This  work  is  a  valuable  addition  to  our  historical  literature.  It  is  the  fmit 
of  wide  research  and  hard  labor.  It  has  those  features  of  severe  simplicity  and 
truthfulness  which  will  render  it  an  enduring  legacy  to  the  future. — Christian 
)ratcluiian. 

Jlr.  Ilildreth's  work  will  be  a  standard  of  reference  for  the  student  of  Ameri- 
can history,  and  will  become  a  favorite  in  proportion  as  it  is  known. — Nat.  Era. 
His  narrative  is  lucid  and  succinct,  his  facts  carefully  ascertained  and  skill- 
fully grouped,  and  his  conclusions  on  all  mooted  questions  are  ably  sustained 
and  impartially  weighed. — Neiv  Orleans  Bee. 

The  most  valuable  work  of  the  kind  yet  issued.  It  presents,  in  a  clear,  grace- 
ful, and  forcible  style,  a  full  and  faithful  picture  of  the  country  from  its  first 
settlement  down  to  the  end  of  the  Sixteenth  Congress.  It  is  marked  no  less  by 
its  completeness  than  its  accuracy  and  the  beauty  of  its  narrative. — Troy  Daily 
Whig. 

In  a  most  graphic,  terse,  and  elegant  style,  it  gives  the  history  of  each  state, 
with  its  institutions,  progress,  and  enterprise,  civil,  commercial,  and  agricul- 
tural, which  makes  the  book  a  valuable  addendum  to  the  historical  literature  of 
the  great  republic— S<.  John's  Morning  News. 

No  better  chronicle  of  the  more  recent  periods  of  our  history  has  been  given.— 
Albany  Evening  Journal. 

The  prevailing  characteristic  of  Ilildreth's  histoiy  is  its  stem  and  inflexible 
impartiality. — Boston  Jouroud. 
The  author  has  shown  a  most  commendable  industry.— BaKiwwj-e  Pairiat. 
The  chief  merits  of  Mr.  Ilildreth's  work  are  fidelity  and  candor  of  spirit,  and 
perspicuity  and  terseness  of  &ty\a.— Southern  Literary  Gazette. 

It  is  a  plain,  dignified,  impartial,  and  fearless  exhibition  of  facts.  —  Genesee 
Evangelist. 

Tlie  author's  grouping  of  men  and  events  is  skillful,  and  renders  his  rapid  nar- 
rative pleasant  reading.— iV.  l".  Evening  Post. 

These  handsome  volumes  should  be  on  the  table  of  every  American  who  de- 
sires tlie  most  thorough  and  clear  report  of  our  nation's  history  yet  published.— 
Rochester  Democrat. 

The  history  is  a  reliable,  and,  in  all  respects,  an  admirable  one— Ontario  Be- 
posdtory. 

The  author  makes  every  thing  plain  and  clear  which  he  touches.— Sout/iem 
Christian  Advocate. 

A  history  of  the  United  States  that  could  be  regarded  by  all  men  as  a  standard 
of  authority,  as  well  as  a  model  of  impartial  la.bor.— Worcester  Palladium. 
A  work  which  should  be  in  every  American's  ha.-iiis.—Springfield  Reimhlican, 
1113  ntyle  is  clear  and  forcible,  and  his  work  is  very  valuable  on  account  of  tho 
political  information  it  contiuns. — Savannah  Rcpuhtvan. 


UlLDRETH'S  HISXOKY  OF  THE  UJSITKO  STATES. 

Written  with  candor,  brevity,  fidelity  to  facts,  and  simplicity  of  style  and  man- 
ner, and  forms  a  welcome  addition  to  the  library  of  the  nation. — Prot.  Churchman^ 

Mr.  Hildrcth  is  a  bold  and  copious  writer.  His  work  is  valuable  for  the  im- 
mense amount  of  material  it  embodies. — De  Bow's  Review  of  the  Southern  a7id 
Western  mates. 

We  may  safely  commend  Mr.  Hildreth's  work  as  written  in  an  excellent  style, 
and  containing  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  information. — Albany  Argus. 

His  stylo  is  vigorously  simple.      It  has  the  virtue  of  perspicuity. Zion's 

Herald. 

We  value  it  on  account  of  its  impartiality.  We  have  found  nothing  to  indi- 
cate the  least  desire  on  the  part  of  the  author  to  exalt  or  debase  any  man  or  any 
party.  His  very  patriotism,  though  high-principled  and  sincere,  is  sober  and 
discriminate,  and  appears  to  bo  held  in  strong  check  by  the  controlling  recollec- 
tion that  he  is  writing  for  posterity,  and  that  if  the  facts  which  he  publishes 
will  not  honor  his  country  and  his  countrymen,  fulsome  adulation  will  not  add 
to  their  glory. — iV.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

We  are  confident  that  when  the  merits  of  this  history  come  to  be  known  and 
appreciated,  it  will  be  extensively  regarded  as  decidedly  superior  to  any  thing 
that  before  existed  on  American  history,  and  as  a  valuable  contribution  to 
American  authorship.  These  stately  volumes  will  be  an  ornament  to  any  libra- 
ry, and  no  intelligent  American  can  afford  to  bo  without  the  work.  We  have 
nobly  patronized  the  great  English  history  of  the  age,  let  us  not  fail  to  appre- 
ciate and  patronize  an  American  history  so  respectable  and  valuable  as  this  cer- 
tainly is. — Hiblical  rie2)ository  {^Eibliotheca  Sacra). 

This  work  professes  only  to  deal  in  facts;  it  is  a  book  of  records;  it  puts  to- 
gether clearly,  consecutively,  and,  we  believe,  with  strict  impartiality,  the  events 
of  American  history.  The  Mork  indicates  patient,  honest,  and  careful  research, 
systematic  arrangement,  and  lucid  exposition. — Ilome  Journal. 

To  exhibit  the  progress  of  the  country  from  infancy  to  maturity;  to  show 
the  actual  state  of  the  people,  the  real  character  of  their  laws  and  institutions, 
and  the  true  designs  of  their  leading  men,  at  different  periods,  and  to  relate  a 
sound,  unvarnished  tale  of  our  early  history,  has  been  his  design ;  and  we  are 
free  to  acknowledge  that  it  has  been  executed  with  marked  ability  and  triumph- 
ant success.  Every  lover  of  impartial  history  will  accord  to  Mr.  Hildreth  his 
due  meed  of  praise  for  the  able  and  honest  manner  in  which  he  has  given  the 
true  history  of  the  United  States. — Pcnnsylvanian. 

This  work  is  full  of  detail,  bears  marks  of  care  and  research,  and  is  written 
under  the  guidance  of  clear  sight  and  good  judgment  rather  than  of  theory, 
philosophical  or  historical,  or  of  prejudice  of  any  sort  whatever.  We  trust  that 
it  will  be  widely  read. — N.  Y.  Courier  and  Enquirer. 

We  pronounce  it  unsurpassed  as  a  full,  clear,  and  truthful  history  of  our 
country  so  far.  We  rejoice  that  a  work  so  important  to  our  nation  has  been  so 
ably  performed. — Literary  American. 

Interesting,  valuable,  and  very  attractive.  It  is  written  in  a  style  eminently 
clear  and  attractive,  and  presents  the  remarkable  history  which  it  records  in  a 
form  of  great  simplicity  and  with  graphic  force.  There  is  in  it  no  attempt  to 
palliate  what  is  wrong,  or  to  conceal  what  is  true.  It  is  a  life-like  and  reliable 
history  of  the  most  remarkable  series  of  events  in  the  annals  of  the  world. — N. 
Y.  Journal  of  Commerce. 

It  is  a  valuable  acquisition  to  American  literature. — Baltimore  American. 

The  history  of  our  country  with  a  scrupulous  regard  to  truth. — Buffalo  Courier. 

We  believe  this  to  be  a  truthful,  judicious,  and  valuable  history,  worthy  of 
general  acceptation Philadelphia  A'orth  American. 

The  first,  complete  history  of  our  country. — Chronotype. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

Franldin  Squaix,  New  Tork. 


•»*  Hakpek  &  P.EOTnEES  will  send  the  .above  Work  by  Mail,  postage  paid  (for 
any  distance  in  the  I'nited  States  under  3000  miles),  on  receipt  of  the  Money. 


COMPLETION  OF  GROTE'S  HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


A   HISTORY    OF    GREECE, 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  GENERA- 
TION CONTEMPORARY  WITH  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT- 

BY  GEORGE  GROTE,  ESQ. 

Vol.  XII.  contains  Portrait,  Maps,  and  Index.    Complete  in  12  vols.  12mo, 
Muslin,  $12  00. 

It  is  not  often  that  a  work  of  such  magnitude  is  undertaken ;  more  seldom  still 
is  such  a  work  so  perseveringly  carried  on,  and  so  soon  and  yet  so  worthily  ac- 
complislied.  Mr.  Grote  has  illustrated  and  invested  with  an  entirely  new  signifi- 
cance a  portion  of  the  past  history  of  humanity,  which  he,  perhaps,  thinks  the  most 
splendid  that  has  been,  and  which  all  allow  to  liave  been  very  splendid.  He  has  made 
great  Greeks  live  again  before  us,  and  has  enabled  us  to  realize  Greek  modes  of  think- 
ing. He  has  added  a  great  historical  work  to  the  language,  taking  its  place  with 
other  great  histories,  and  yet  not  like  any  of  them  in  the  special  combination  of 
merits  which  it  exhibits  :  scholarship  and  learning  such  as  we  have  been  ac- 
customed to  demand  only  in  Germans  ;  an  art  of  grouping  and  narration  dilTerent 
from  that  of  Hume,  different  from  that  of  Gibbon,  and  yet  producing  the  effect  of 
sustained  charm  and  pleasure  ;  a  peculiarly  keen  interest  in  events  of  tlie  political 
srder,  and  a  wide  knowledge  of  the  business  of  politics  ;  and,  finally,  harmonizing 
all,  a  spirit  of  sober  philosophical  generalization  always  tending  to  view  facts 
collectively  in  their  speculative  bearing  as  well  as  to  record  them  individually. 
It  is  at  once  an  ample  and  detailed  narrative  of  the  history  of  Greece,  and  a  lucid 
philosophy  of  Grecian  history. —  London  Athencaum,  March  8,  1856. 

Mr.  Grote  will  be  emphatically  the  historiap.  of  the  people  of  Greece. — Dublin 
University  Magazine. 

The  acute  intelligence,  the  discipline,  faculty  of  intellect,  and  the  excellent  eru- 
dition every  one  would  look  for  from  Mr.  Grote  ;  but  they  will  here  also  find  the 
element  which  harmonizes  these,  and  without  which,  on  such  a  theme,  an  orderly 
and  solid  work  could  not  have  been  written. —  Examhier. 

A  work  second  to  that  of  Gibbon  alone  in  English  historical  literature.  Mr. 
Grote  gives  the  philosophy  as  well  as  the  facts  of  history,  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  an  author  combining  in  the  same  degree  the  accurate  learning  of  the  schol- 
ar with  tlie  experience  of  a  practical  statesman.  The  completion  of  this  great 
work  may  well  be  hailed  with  some  degree  of  national  pride  and  satisfaction. — 
Litcrarij  Gazette,  March  8,  185G. 

Tlie  better  acquainted  any  one  is  with  Grecian  history,  and  with  the  manner  in 
which  that  history  has  heretofore  been  written,  the  higher  will  be  his  estimation 
of  this  work.  Mr.  Grote's  familiarity  both  with  the  great  highways  and  the  ob- 
scurest by-paths  of  Grecian  literature  and  antiquity  has  seldom  been  equaled,  and 
not  often  approached,  in  unlearned  England  ;  while  those  Germans  who  have  ri- 
valed it  have  seldom  possessed  the  quality  which  eminently  characterizes  Mr. 
Grote,  of  keeping  historical  imagination  severely  under  the  restraints  of  evidence. 
The  great  charm  of  Mr.  Grote's  history  has  been  throughout  the  cordial  admira- 
tion he  feels  for  the  people  whose  acts  and  fortunes  he  has  to  relate.  *  *  We  bid 
Mr.  Grote  farewell ;  heartily  congratulating  him  on  the  conclusion  of  a  work  which 
is  a  monument  of  English  learning,  of  English  clear-sightedness,  and  of  English 
love  of  freedom  and  the  characters  it  produces. — Spectator. 

Endeavor  to  become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Grote,  who  is  engaged  on  a  Greek 
History.  I  expect  a  great  deal  from  this  production.— Niebuhr,  the  Historian, 
to  Professor  Lieber. 

The  author  has  now  incontestably  won  for  himself  the  title,  not  merely  of  a 
historian,  but  of  ;Ac  historian  of  Greece. — Quarterly  Review. 

Mr.  Grote  is,  beyond  all  ([ucstion,  the  historian  of  Greece,  unrivaled,  so  far  as 
we  know,  in  the  erudition  and  genius  with  which  he  has  revived  the  picture  of  a 
distant  past,  and  brought  home  every  part  and  feature  of  its  history  to  our  intel- 
lects and  our  hearts. — London  Times. 

For  becoming  dignity  of  style,  unforced  adaptation  of  results  to  principles,  care- 
ful verification  of  theory  by  fact,  and  impregnation  of  fact  by  theory— for  extensive 
and  well-weighed  learning,  employed  with  intelligence  and  taste,  we  have  seen  no 
historical  work  of  mnilern  times  which  we  would  place  above  Mr.  Grote's  histo- 
ry,— Morning  I'hroniclc. 

HARPER  8c.  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE,  N.  Y. 


STANDARD  WORKS 

OP 

WxBCOvtxyi  ani  '2.im\i\xxxt  in  Africa 

rUELISIIED  BY 

HARPEE  &  BEOTHEES,  Franklin  Square,  New  York. 

B^"  Sent  h])  MaiU  postage  prepaid^  on  receipt  of  price. 


The  amount  of  travel  literature  which  Haepek  &  Brotheks  have  published.,  re- 
lating to  Africa,  makes  a  ciorious  list,  and  illustrates  the  bent  of  geographical 
and  political  examination  for  some  time  2)ast.  The  octavos  of  Burton,  Earth, 
Livingstone,  Du  Chaillu,  Davis,  ajid  a  number  of  other  celebrated  travelers,  form 
a  small  libranj,  all  the  result  of  the  last  few  years'  devotion  to  African  explora- 
tion  N.  Y.  JouBNAL  or  Commerce. 


South  Africa. 


BALDWIN'S  AFRICAN  HUNTING.  African  Hunting  from  Natal  to  the 
Zambesi,  including  Lake  Ncami,  the  Kalahara  Desert,  &c.,  from  1S5'2  to  ISCO. 
By  William  Charles  Baldwin,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.  With  Map,  Fifty  Illustra- 
tions by  Wolf  and  Zwecker,  and  a  Portrait  of  the  Great  Sportsman.  Small 
Svo,  Cloth.  $1  DO. 


Southwestern  Africa. 

THE  OKAVANGO  EIVEK :  A  Narrative  of  Travel,  Exploration,  and  Adven- 
ture. By  CiiAKLEs  John  Andeksson,  Author  of  "  Lake  Ngami."  With  Steel 
Portrait  of  the  Author,  numerous  Wood-culs,  and  a  Map  (not  contained  in  the 
English  Edition)  showing  the  Regions  explored  by  Anders.^on,  Cumming,  Liv- 
ingstone, Burton,  and  Dn  Chaillu.     Svo,  Cloth,  $2  50;  Half  Calf,  $3  T5. 


Northern  Africa. 

CARTHAGE  AND  HER  REMAINS :  Being  an  Account  of  the  Excavations 
and  Researches  on  the  Site  of  the  Phoenician  Metropolis  in  Africa  and  other 
Adjacent  Places,  under  the  Auspices  of  Her  Majesty's  Government.  By  Dr. 
N.  Davis,  F.R.G.S.  Profusely  Illustrated  with  Maps,  W'ood-cuts,  Chromo- 
Lithographs,  &c.,  &c.     Svo,  Cloth,  $3  00;  Half  Calf,  $4  25. 


Equatorial  Africa. 

EXPLORATIONS  AND  ADVENTURES  IN  EQUATORIAL  AFRICA; 
with  Accounts  of  the  JLanners  and  Customs  of  tlie  People,  and  of  the  Chase  of 
the  Gorilla,  the  Crocodile,  Leopurd,  Elephant,  Hippopotamus,  and  other  An- 
imals. By  Paul  B.  du  Chaillu,  Corresponding  Member  of  the  American 
Ethnological  Society;  of  the  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society  of  New  York, 
and  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History.  With  Maps  and  numerous  Il- 
lustrations.    Svo,  Cloth,  $3  75;  Half  Calf,  $5  00. 


South  Africa. 

MISSIONARY  TRAVELS  AND  RESEARCHES  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA; 
includmg  a  Sketch  of  Sixteen  Years'  Residence  in  the  Interior  of  Africa,  and 
a  Journey  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Loando  on  the  West  Coast ;  thence 
across  the  Continent,  down  tlie  River  Zambesi,  to  the  Eastern  Ocean.  By 
David  Livingstone,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  Witli  Portrait,  Maps,  and  numerous  Il- 
lustrations.   Svo,  Cloth,  $3  00;  Half  Calf,  $4  25. 


2  WorLs  of  Discovery  and  Adventure  in  Africa, 

Cexteal  Africa. 

THE  LAKE  REGIONS  OF  CENTRAL  AFRICA.  A  Picture  of  Kxplora- 
tion.  By  Kichaed  F.  Borton',  Captain  II.JI.I.  Anny;  Fellow  and  Gold 
Medalist  of  the  Royal  Goographical  Society.  With  Maps  and  Engravings  on 
Wood.     Svo,  Cloth,  $3  7.5;  Half  Calf,  $5  OlJ. 


ISToRTH  AND  Cexteal  Africa. 

TRAVELS  AND  DISCOVERIES  IN  NORTH  AND  CENTRAL  AFRICA. 
Being  a  Journal  of  an  Expedition  undertaken  under  the  Auppices  of  H.B.M.'s 
Government,  in  the  Years  1S49-1855.  By  IIenky  Baetu,  Ph.D.,  D.C.L. 
Profusely  and  elegantly  Illustrated.  Complete  in  3  vols.  Svo,  Cloth,  $9  00 ; 
Sheep,  $9  75 ;    Half  Calf,  $12  15. 


Southwestern  Africa. 

LAKE  NG-AMI ;  or,  Explorations  and  Discoveries  during  Four  Years'  Wander- 
ings in  the  AVilds  of  Southwestern  Africa.  By  Chaelf.s  John  Andeesson. 
With  numerous  Illustrations,  representing  Sporting  Adventures,  Subjects  of 
Natural  History,  Devices  for  Destroying  Wild  Animals,  &c.  New  Edition. 
12mo,  Cloth,  $100 ;  Half  Calf,  $2  00. 


South  Africa. 

FIVE  YEARS  OF  A  HUNTER'S  LIFE  IN  THE  INTERIOR  OF  SOUTH 
AFRICA.  A\"ith  Notices  of  the  Native  Tribes,  and  Anecdotes  of  the  Chase 
of  the  Lion,  Eleph.ant,  Hippopotamus,  Giraffe,  Rhinoceros,  &c.  Bv  Goepon 
Gumming.     AVith  Hlustrations.     2  vols.  12mo,  Cloth,  $2  00;  Half  Calf,  .$■!  00. 


"Western  Africa. 

V7ESTERN  AFRICA:  Its  History,  Condition,  and  Prospects.  By  Rev.  J. 
Leigiiton  Wilson,  Eighteen  Years  a  Missionary  in  Africa.  With  numerous 
Engravings.     12mo^  Cloth,  $1  25  ;  Half  Calf,  $2  25. 


Madagascar. 

THE  LAST  TRAVELS  OF  IDA  PFEIFFER :  inclusive  of  n  Visit  to  Mada' 
gascar.  With  an  Autobiographical  Memoir  of  the  Author.  Translated  by  H. 
W.  DuLCKEN.  Steel  I'ortrait.  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50  ;  Half  Calf,  $2  50. 
(Uniform  with  Ida  Pfeiffer's  "Second  Journey  Round  the  World.") 


Madagascar. 

THREE  VISITS  TO  MADAGASCAR,  during  the  Years  1853-1  =!54-lS5G.  In- 
cluding a  Journey  to  the  Capital,  with  Notices  of  the  Natur.al  Histoi-y  of  the 
Country  and  of  the  Iresent  (Jivilizatinn  of  the  People.  By  the  Rev.  Wiu.iam 
Eli.ib,  F.H.S.,  Author  of  "  PoljTiesian  Researches."  Illustrated  by  a  Map  and 
Wood-cutH  from  Photographs,  &c.     Svo,  Cloth,  $3  00;  Half  Calf,  $4  25 


.  <rf   DATE  DUE 

— 

GAYLORD 

#3523PI 

Printed  in  USA 

